Dear Diary,

Well I'm back in Toronto! To be honest I didn't fly back just for the wild Simcoe festivities...I flew back to see my wonderful family and to give my fabulous husband a hand with the kids.

Also, my daughter Myrna is deep into rehearsals at Massey Hall for the August 2 opening night of Annie Get Your Gun (with Louise Pitre and Billy Ray Cyrus). To say she is enjoying working with all these amazing adult performers would be an understatement! Of course she is cool as a cucumber about the star power she works with on a daily basis.

Of course when my husband goes to pick her up he gets all silly and giggly when he sees Louise Pitre and Bill Ray Cyrus. Poor Myrna, she is woefully aghast at her father's inability to chill around celebrities.

Now, I haven't been around during rehearsals, but Myrna isn't offering up much of an inside scoop either. She won't even tell me what her costume is -- she wants it to be a surprise! She does tell me Louise is really friendly, Billy Ray is very sweet and shy and...that's about it! Oh, and the cast and the orchestra sound amazing! I wonder what it feels like to be eleven and singing with a full orchestra?

I can't believe I'm going to walk into Tuesday's opening night performance with my husband and younger daughter Trinity and not know what to expect at all! I don't even know how much blocking and/or movement/dancing there will be! Talk about suspense!

I wonder if she'll invite me to the opening night party? I wonder if I'll get to meet Louise and Billy Ray (teehee...teehee...teeheee...)

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

I just got a recommendation for this school, which is a totally unique, New York-only type of school, that caters to the special needs of performing children.

Professional Children's School provides a challenging education for young people working or studying for careers in the performing and visual arts, modeling and competitive sports, and for students who desire the special environment of PCS or the flexibility and independence of the PCS program.

Here's the history of the school, which is very, very cool:

In October 1913, Jane Harris Hall and Jean Greer Robinson attended a Broadway performance of Daddy Long Legs. After the show, making their way backstage, they happened upon several children in the cast playing cards. Speaking with the youngsters, they learned that the children didn't attend school and that they could barely read and write.

Upon later investigation, Miss Hall and Mrs. Robinson learned that public and private schools could not or would not accommodate the schedules of stage children and that most children working on the stage were simply skipping school. Seeing the need, they decided to establish a school designed especially for New York's stage (or "professional") children. Both ladies were already deeply involved in efforts to improve the lot of New York's actors and actresses and together had already founded The Rehearsal Club, a non-profit residential club for young actresses.

The School admitted its first two students on January 6, 1914 in rented space at The Rehearsal Club. From the start, the School's approach was unique. "The Professional Children's School," Mrs. Robinson wrote in 1922, "gives the child of the stage and screen an opportunity for a thorough education and at the same time permits the young actor or actress to continue with his or her profession; for the school suits its hours to rehearsals and managers' appointments and the various interruptions which a life on the stage demands; at the same time it insists upon and achieves a very high standard of scholarship." An immediate success, the School was enrolling over 100 students within a year.

Rather than adapt the children to the school, our co-founders adapted the school to the children. The school day began at 10:00 a.m. and finished promptly at 2:00 p.m. Students were allowed to miss class for professional reasons and a "correspondence program" enabled students in touring shows to keep up with their school work while away. The curriculum concentrated on the "Three R's" in order to maximize students' time while meeting state requirements for graduation. Most early PCS students considered high school graduation the conclusion of their formal academic education.

I think I might know a little girl who will apply to PCS for Grade 7...

Professional Children's School
132 West 60th Street
New York, New York
10023
(212) 582-3116
pcs@pcs-nyc.org

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

I almost cannot believe this, but there is an organization called "Play by Play" that I just heard about that entitles "members" to comp tickets for an annual membership fee and a small ($3) processing fee. For the life of me, I can't figure out how this works...but I've heard from a reputable source that this is the real deal. I've signed up to see if it works...I'll let you know what happens.

You are cordially invited to join Play by Play, a unique organization called upon by theatre producers to fill unsold seats to their Broadway and Off Broadway shows.

Performances range from previews and opening nights to performances throughout a show's run. Corporate attire is required for Broadway shows.

Members log on to our website to see a list of available shows.

Members are entitled to at least two tickets for each available event.

Members pay an annual membership fee of $99.00 and a service charge of $3.00 per ticket (Visa, Mastercard. Check or Cash).

Act now to become part of this elite group of avid theatre-goers!

There are limited number of memberships currently available and this offer is valid only while they last. Play by Play reserves the right to refuse membership.

For more information or to apply please call (212)868-7052
Monday-Friday 10:30am to 5:00pm
Saturday 11:00am to 2:30pm

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

I for one, for instance, never realized that there is a play-only line (#6) at the TKTS booth and you don't have to line up with the rest of the Mamma Mia!-going crowds to get a ticket to a play! So I scooted in and picked up a tasty ticket to Glengarry Glen Ross at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.

Glengarry Glen Ross boasts a stellar cast: Liev Schreiber (who won the Tony for this role) Alan Alda, Frederick Weller, Tom Wopat, Gordon Clapp and Jeffrey Tambor!

Wow. Unbelievable! This is the only play in recent memory during which I didn't nod off, not even for a second. It was so well written and acted, and wonderfully economical -- I loved it. It was so much funnier than the movie! For a play that isn't a comedy I laughed a lot! Of course, I didn't have any problems with the swearing, a feeling not shared by everyone in the audience! They even sell boxes of fortune cookies at intermission that contain some of the dirtiest lines in the show! What a gas! The human drama was all still there, just in a very realistic, laughable, recognizable way.

I've always been a huge Liev Schreiber fan and he didn't disappoint. I could listen to him talk all night long. And Alan Alda was a total joy. God I love that guy! Everyone in the cast was superb. What a treat. And what a cool set. The first act is sent in a Chinese restaurant and the second act in the robbed office, complete with revolving door and fluorescent lights! Run to see it before it closes...

It was a full house last night, so I wasn't surprised when I read this article in Variety online:

The Broadway revival of "Glengarry Glen Ross," starring Alan Alda and Liev Schreiber, has gone into the black.

The Tony-winning production of David Mamet's play recouped its $2 million capitalization on Wednesday, the day of its 100th perf. Limited engagement is set to close Aug. 28.

Revival recoupment is an increasingly rare feat on Broadway these days. The Denzel Washington starrer "Julius Caesar" is the only other redux to open this season and go on to recoup. It played 81 performances.

Commercial Broadway revivals that opened and closed this year without returning their investment include "La Cage aux Folles," "The Glass Menagerie" and "On Golden Pond."

Still running but set to close in the following days are "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "Steel Magnolias"; neither is expected to recoup.

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

Dear Diary,

It cooled off a bit yesterday evening, after the initial rain, which was fortunate since there was a really cool Target fashion show in Rockefeller Center where the runways ran up and down the building. The models (athletes?) were on ropes so they were walking and dancing down the "runways" like Spiderman!

Here's a little rundown:

Target Stores will turn New York City's Rockefeller Center into a vertical catwalk for a p.r.-driven fashion show next week.

Target's July 27 stunt will feature 15 acrobats (in harnesses) walking down nine floors of Rockefeller Center in clothing from Target's fall collection from designers Mossimo, Liz Lange and Isaac Mizrahi, per news reports. A traditional runway on the ground will host another 50 models.

Yet ANOTHER reason why I could never be a model!

So today is a chilly 75 degrees. A perfect day for Broadway in Bryant Park! Every Thursday in the summer at 12:30pm in Bryant Park (Sixth avenue between 41st and 42nd Streets) you can go and listen to great Broadway show numbers for free!

Today I went and heard selections from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Chicago and Wicked.

What fun! The park was packed with all sorts -- kids, tourists, old and young, business people, you name it. There is free WIFI hookup, free reading material and lots of chairs. What a great public space!

First they had the Chitty people accompanied by piano, which was lovely. They sang "Truly Scrumptious", "Hushabye Mountain" and of course, "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". Apparently the car is the most expensive special effect ever created for the musical stage! I can totally see that show working in a large theater. I thought the introduction to "Truly Scrumptious" was charming: (I'm paraphrasing a bit...the sound was a bit choppy at times):

Kids: Is your name Truly?
Truly: Yes, you should meet my sisters, Madly and Deeply...
Kids: Seriously?
Truly: No, he's my brother!

Then next came Spelling Bee. This is a show that needs to be done in a more intimate setting. Half the fun is seeing the expressions on their faces. They did a great job, but it lost something without the intimacy. They also sang with piano.

Next up was Chicago. Low marks for using tracks! It really takes away from the whole "live" thing if the chorus that is singing behind you, isn't behind you! Although "Class" done by Carol Wood and Luba Mason was quite good, despite the karaoke back up!

Finally we got Wicked, who brought their own band -- yeah to live music! The Elphaba standby (Saycon Sengbloh) and Galinda standby (Stacie Morgain Lewis) were very good and they finished off the concert with "For Good", my favorite song from the show.

So guess where I'll be next Thursday at 12:30 pm...

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

I am such a '60s nut, yet I've never had the opportunity to live a real '60s lifestyle. Now that I'm fully embedded in Plane Crazy, I feel like I belong to a different era. Then I read this article on Futuro houses in BoingBoing today. Oh. My. God. I HAVE TO LIVE IN ONE OF THESE. Immediate phone call to husband: Sell everything. Move into spaceship. Let me know when the packing is done. Over and out.

Here's the complete post from BoingBoing:

Futuro Houses: prefab space kitsch

Here's a terrific article in the New York Times about Futuro houses.

The circular house, 11 feet high and 26 feet across, was designed by Matti Suuronen, a Finnish architect, in 1968. A hatch door in its lower half opened down to reveal steps, like the door of a small airplane, and led into a room outfitted with six plastic bed-chair combinations and a central fireplace slab, as well as a kitchenette and a bathroom. Photographs from the time make the house look like a place where the Teletubbies might live, with Barbarella as a frequent houseguest.

Mika Taanila, a Finnish filmmaker who helped start the Futuro revival with his 1998 documentary "Futuro: A New Stance for Tomorrow," said he became interested in the houses because they seemed to represent the mood of the late 1960's so precisely. They reflected the era's "economic boom and optimism about the future," he said in a telephone interview from Finland. "Suuronen could not have come up with the idea 15 years earlier or 10 years later."

Part of that optimism was about the potential for plastics and prefabrication to radically lower the cost of housing, in the revolutionary spirit of 1968. The Futuro, which was made of polyester plastic and fiberglass and which sold in the United States for between $12,000 and $14,000, was one of many experimental plastic houses at the time. It came in 16 pieces that could easily be moved by truck or helicopter and set up in a couple of days. Link to story.

Image above: a Futuro house owned by Richard Pisani -- who uses it as a home theater. Shot by Peter Thompson for the NYT.

Here's a review of the book Futuro: Tomorrow's House from Yesterday, by Marko Home and Mika Taanila. You can buy it here.

Previously on Boing Boing: Futuro House: better living from the Gernsback Continuum and Relocation of Futuro-House

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

Dear Diary,

It was so hot today I actually melted on the sidewalk! But I got my second t-shirt comment! I was walking into Williams-Sonoma to cool off and the greeter said he had the same exact M*A*S*H t-shirt as I was wearing, but he hadn't worn it in 25 years! He remembered because he met his best friend while he was wearing it. Of course, my prize M*A*S*H t-shirt belonged to my fabulous husband in university!

What is it with me and t-shirts?

Today I got a call from my producer (I love the sound of that...) who told me casting is shaping up well and everyone is very enthused about the show! I can't wait to publish a full cast list -- I'm bursting! This is very, very exciting! I mean, since we are working under the Equity showcase code, these actors are doing it for the exposure and because they like the show, not for the money. I really appreciate their commitment to the process of developing a new musical -- I couldn't do it without them! Stay tuned for a cast announcement!

New York is such a great city for walking. And when I need to write, or think about re-writing, I love to do mindless physical activity like walking or swimming. After hearing certain scenes read over and over again in the auditions, I'm doing a little 'tweaking'. So now I'm walking around saying lines out loud, trying out new material. I didn't get any funny looks like I do in Toronto. I guess someone walking down the street singing and talking to themselves really isn't out of place in New York...

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

Wow, what a loss. According to this article in Playbill:

Danny Simon, a comedy writer and teacher of comedy writing whose talent to amuse ran in the family, died July 26 in Portland, Oregon, according to his brother playwright Neil Simon.

Mr. Simon died following complications from a stroke. The Bronx native was 85.

The son of Mamie and Irving Simon, Mr. Simon and his younger brother Neil began writing together in the late 1940s for a variety of radio and television shows. A fictionalized account of their early creative aspirations was seen in Neil Simon's play, Broadway Bound. The relationship of two men, or brothers, is central to many of Neil Simon's plays, from Come Blow Your Horn to The Odd Couple to Brighton Beach Memoirs and Lost in Yonkers.

"Danny made me laugh...he made everyone laugh," Neil Simon wrote July 26. "He was a character (in more ways than one) in at least nine or ten of my plays, and I'm sure will probably be there again in many plays to come."

The Simon brothers were part of Sid Caesar's legendary team of writers which included Mel Brooks, Larry Gelbart , Sheldon Keller, Mel Tolkin and later Woody Allen on "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour." The brothers also collaborated on "The Red Buttons Show," "The Phil Silvers Show" and "The Jackie Gleason Show."

Woody Allen once said, "Everything I learned about comedy, I learned from Danny Simon."

Danny and Neil Simon continued writing together until 1954 when Neil began devoting himself to writing for the theatre and Danny stayed in television, initially as head writer for NBC's "Colgate Comedy Hour." Later television credits include "Make Room for Daddy," "The Facts of Life" and "Diff'rent Strokes." He also provided material for Joan Rivers' guest-hosting appearances on "The Tonight Show."

"He didn't think his name, Danny Simon, had enough pizzazz for big time television," Neil Simon wrote. "He changed it to Danny Q. Simon. Max Liebman, the producer of 'Your Show of Shows,' refused to put the 'Q' on the credits of such a tony show. Danny turned to me and said, 'If you want the 'Q,' I'll sell it to you...' 'I'll sleep on it,' I said."

In 1980 Mr. Simon accepted an offer to lecture on comedy writing at the University of Southern California. He subsequently gave three-day writing seminars in colleges all across the country.

He told Duke University's The Chronicle in 1987, "A long time ago I realized I didn't like writing. I hate to face blank pages. I would rather face blank actors. I have been teaching for eight years and I love it. The names of my students are on so many comedy credits, and they write me letters I feel like the Mr. Chips of comedy writing."

"Not only did prominent writers flock to his classes, but so did studio heads and major television executives," Neil Simon wrote of his brother. "He knew comedy. He made more friends in Los Angeles than were peopled in countries far and wide."

Mr. Simon also told the Chronicle at the time his greatest contribution to 20th century comedy was giving Neil Simon and Woody Allen their start in comedy.

Neil Simon wrote, "Danny is now pacing somewhere in the Galaxy of Galaxies, making angels laugh and trying to swap the 'Q' for a good pair of wings or golf lessons from Bobby Jones, who is the pro up there."

Mr. Simon is survived by his son, Michael Simon of Portland, OR, and his daughter Valerie Simon of Los Angeles, and two grandchildren.

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

Louisa Lo, who played a stew in the Toronto workshop of Plane Crazy last year at the Poor Alex emailed me with some cool news:

Hello, as some of you might know, I am co-producing and performing in a cabaret called After Hour Desires. It is a fun show full of singing, dancing, and sexy costumes. Come visit our website at: www.afterhourdesires.com

Here are the details:

WHEN
August 10th, 2005 (Wednesday),
Doors open 6:00 pm, show starts 7:30 pm

WHERE
Revival Bar, 783 College St. W (at Shaw)

TICKET PRICE
$15

You can purchase your tickets via www.ticketweb.com (type "Revival" under "Search For Tickets"), or call 1-888-222-6608.

So check out their website -- you certainly can't argue with the costumes!

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

Dear Diary,

Today started off with a good old-fashioned black out. So I sweltered through the night, and was relieved when about 9 am the lights came back on!

On my quest to find Kleenex (who knew there was a new anti-viral line extension?) I ran across a cool store called FISHS EDDY, Purveyor of Sturdy-ware at 77th and Broadway. They sell a lot of overruns (I'm guessing) of branded dishware. They are currently selling Pan Am silver-plated knives at $3.50 a pop -- hey, maybe that could add to the authenticity of the Plane Crazy props!

Today was callbacks back at Ripley Grier! It was also exciting because Michael Rubinoff, our producer, flew down from Toronto! And our asoociate producer Kendra Bator was also able to attend so it was a full table! What a marathon. We started at 5 pm and wrapped up auditions at 10 pm. Whew. The actors we called back were all extremely professional, and prepared -- what a joy.

We did the big dance call at 5 pm. I arrived at the studio and all these amazing dancers were in their dance outfits doing stretches in their character shoes just like in the movies! I also got to see our choreographer Randy Slovacek do a combination to the "Venus Flytrap" which was sooo great! All these women moved so incredibly well and were so confident with their bodies. I wanted to get up and dance too (thankfully, I restrained myself...) The male dancers were equally fabulous and some of the guys there for character parts soldiered on extremely well through the difficult combination!

I'm not sure who was having a better time -- Michael Rubinoff or myself! He even promised me he would write a post for the Plane Crazy blog!

This time, in addition to having the actors read sides, we had them quickly (and I do mean quickly) learn parts of various songs from Plane Crazy from our amazing musical director Seth Weinstein. So, I got to hear tons of amazing voices singing my songs -- 2 cool 4 words! They also did paired readings which was really nice to see chemistry forming between the actors who were reading for different roles.

Then it was off to recap with the creative team! And to top off the fun we ordered in Chinese food and it came in those great little boxes you see in all the movies (we don't really get those in Toronto). So, over shredded pork and green beans and broccoli in garlic sauce and spicy shrimp dumplings, we hashed out all the casting choices! Wow, it was hard, but the creative team really worked well together and we ended up with great selections to fill our cast.

Thanks to a great creative team, and especially our director Jamibeth Margolis who pulled it all together!

I shared a cab home with Kendra around 1:30 am. Thankfully, the air conditioning was still working!

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

What a happy place! What a great song!

The other day I heard a wonderful rendition of a musical theater song I'd never heard before...shame on me! It was "Disneyland", a song from the 1986 musical Smile by Marvin Hamlisch and Howard Ashman, based on Michael Ritchie's similarly named and underrated 1975 feature.

Apparently, "The musical failed to sustain an appropriate tone, although Hamlisch and Ashman wrote some lovely songs and one, "Disneyland", has become an audition staple."

Unfortunately, I subsequently found out this music is out of print so if I want to access it I have to go to the library (eww!)

It is a great song about a young girl living in a dysfunctional family who is watching TV and dreams of going to Disneyland where life is perfect, or at least a whole lot better than the world she really inhabits. I got chills listening to it!

Here's the Wikipedia entry:

Smile is a musical originally produced on Broadway in 1986. It has music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Howard Ashman. The original production closed suddenly and unexpectedly after less than fifty performances.

Based loosely on the 1975 movie of the same name, Smile chronicles the 1985 California Young American Miss beauty pageant and the week preceding it. The main characters include Robin Gibson (Antelope Valley's Young American Miss) and Doria Hudson (Yuba City's Young American Miss), two girls who befriend and help each other throughout the week, Brenda DiCarlo Freelander, the ex-Young American Miss second-runner-up co-ordinating the 1985 pageant, and her husband Big Bob, an RV Salesman trying to help her through the week.

The original production featured Jodi Benson in the role of Doria who, almost presciently (considering Benson's later involvement with the Walt Disney corporation), sings the song "Disneyland."

"Disneyland" has become symbolic for the musical as a whole, being presented on numerous compilations of recordings from so-called "lost Musicals" (along with, in some cases, "In Our Hands" and the title song.) Smile is considered "lost" because no official cast recording was ever made. However, there does exist a demo tape which is a primary source for groups performing the show.

You learn something new every day!

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

According to this article in Playbill:

Brent Carver, who won a Tony Award for playing Molina in the musical Kiss of the Spider Woman, will be wizened wizard Gandalf in the new 2006 musical, The Lord of the Rings, the producers announced July 25.

The world premiere musical condensation of the J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy trilogy will have a cast of 55 at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre. Performances begin Feb. 2, 2006.

"Having auditioned 4,000 actors over four months across Canada, followed by in-depth recall auditions with 350," the creative team -- led by director Matthew Warchus and producer Kevin Wallace -- announced a cast drawn from across Canada and the United Kingdom. Carver is a Canadian theatre star and a veteran of the Stratford Festival and many resident theatres there.

Director Matthew Warchus said, "Following two years of design, script and music pre-production, arriving at a cast is a thrilling and auspicious moment. I am particularly proud of the huge diversity of skill in the company. Wonderful, experienced actors will be working alongside acrobats, stilt-walkers and outstanding singers, all pooling their talents to bring this magical story alive on the stage. Given the size of the show, this is bound to be the most grueling production process any of us has been through, but when I look at this company, I am eager to begin!"

Frodo, the Hobbit ring-bearer, will be played by young British actor James Loye; Gollum will be played by Michael Therriault, a Stratford veteran and recent Leo of the Canadian staging of The Producers (he's currently in Broadway's Fiddler on the Roof); Evan Buliung will play Aragorn, the king-in-waiting; wizard Saruman, the leader of the White Council corrupted by his lust for the Ring, will be played by Richard McMillan (Scar in the Canadian Premiere production of Disney's The Lion King); Peter Howe is Sam, Frodo's faithful friend (Howe was discovered by LOTR creative team in London after he wrote to the London production office requesting an audition; this marks his professional stage debut); Canadian Dylan Roberts is Merry and Irishman Owen Sharpe is Pippin; Gabriel Burrafato (of the recent Hal Prince-supervised Evita tour) is Legolas; Dion Johnstone is Boromir; Carly Street is Arwen; Victor A. Young will play Elrond; Kerry Dorey is Theoden and Kristin Galer plays Rosie.

The ensemble consists of Greg Armstrong-Morris, Joel Benson, Alexandra Bonnet, Brent Buchanan, Matt Cassidy, Mike Cota, Susan Dunstan, Joe Eigo, Josh Epstein, Omar Forrest, Matthew Gagnon, Nicholas Gede-Lange, Don Gough, Graeme Guthrie, Colin Heath, Peter Huck, Chilina Kennedy, Kristal Kiran Garib, Bryce Kulak, Monique Lund, Shannon Lynch, Ayrin Mackie, Colin Maier, Patrick McManus, Tyler Murree, Philip Nero, Danny Pathan, Sean C. Robertson, Louise St. Cyr, Vincent Tong, Peter Van Gestel, Fraser Walters, Sanders Whiting and Shawn Wright.

"It is a great privilege and honor to have Brent Carver leading our outstanding company of performers," Warchus said in a statement. "As one of the greatest actors of his generation anywhere in the world, he has demonstrated dazzling versatility and prowess on stage and screen, in every genre from musicals to classic plays. A long-time prince of Canadian theatre, he is aptly suited to be the inspiring leader and father figure to this dynamic young company. He is a unique talent. He will refresh the role entirely. And he exemplifies the guiding principal of this production: to bring the most exciting creative talents to this epic masterpiece and generate a thrilling new work of art."

"We are absolutely delighted that James Loye is bringing his unique and charismatic talent to the role of Frodo," said producer Kevin Wallace. "There is an indefinable quality about James that sets him apart as the actor fit to fulfill the momentous responsibility of creating J.R.R. Tolkien's Frodo Baggins on stage."

Of the deformed and poisoned Gollum, to be played by lean actor Michael Therriault, Warchus said, "It is obvious that Gollum requires a physically virtuosic performance -- being such a darkly malformed creature. But at the center of the physicality must be superb acting; capable of capturing the extraordinary emotion, the tragedy and the unexpected warmth and comedy of this character. Celebrated as one of Canada's greatest leading actors, Michael has an intriguing originality, an unusual intensity, and a powerful focus that makes him a very exciting choice as Frodo's 'shadow' -- the tormented and pitifully corrupted hobbit, Gollum. As with all the principals, Michael has been cast not least for his ability to bring this celebrated role alive on stage in a new, fresh and exciting way. It is thrilling to have him in the company."

The roles of Galadriel, Gimli and Bilbo have yet to be cast and will be announced at a later date.

I guess they ran out of actors...

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

Dear Diary,

Today I ventured into unchartered territory in New York -- I did my laundry!

Actually, it wasn't so bad. They have a nice big laundry room in the basement of my building and it uses smart cards not stacks of quarters -- yeah! -- to power the very new-looking washers and dryers. Of course, I chose the incorrect dryer setting so everything was still damp after 45 minutes of tumbling...if only it was a microwave, then I'd be able to run it like a pro...

As I was going back and forth and back and forth to the laundry room I noticed that there was continuous vocalizing going on in a couple of the apartments! I felt left out since I didn't have my trusty piano with me. Fortunately, our very generous musical director, Seth Weinstein, has lent me the use of one of his keyboards! Yeah!

On my many outings today I had two celebrity sightings in the Upper West Side. First, I saw Mark Harelik who is currently starring in The Light in the Piazza as the Italian father. You might recognize him as Jack's boss at the Gay Network on Will and Grace. Then I saw a very sweaty Jere Burns talking on his phone, sitting on a bench. I loved him in Dear John! He was so funny -- come to think of it, he'd make a great Clive in Plane Crazy!

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

According to this article in Variety online:

A Wynn-win situation for 'Spamalot'
'Monty' gets custom-built venue in Vegas

By ROBERT HOFLER

Steve Wynn suddenly has a thing about Tony-winning tuners.

After nabbing "Avenue Q," which opens next month at Wynn Las Vegas, the hotelier has now secured "Monty Python's Spamalot" for his resort. The 2005 Tony winner will open at Wynn Las Vegas in 2007.

Unlike the adult puppet show, however, "Spam" will tour concurrently with its Vegas stint. Kicking off in Boston, the national tour goes out in March 2006.

In Vegas, "Spam" will begin perfs upon completion of its own custom-built venue, to be called "Spamalot Experience and Grail Theater." Designers on the project are the musical's creator, Eric Idle, and its set and costume designer, Tim Hatley. In the Broadway staging of "Spamalot," Hatley's set envisions Camelot as the Excalibur hotel, one of Wynn's competitors in Las Vegas.

"Spamalot" preemed March 17 on Broadway at the Shubert Theater, where it continues to sell out in an open-ended run. In addition to the Tony for musical, it took the awards for director of a musical, Mike Nichols, and featured actress in a musical, Sara Ramirez.

And speaking of Sara Ramirez, isn't that her playing Rose (that's a great name) the curmudgeonly cashier in You've Got Mail with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan? You know, The scene in the grocery store where Meg Ryan gets in the cash-only line and doesn't have any cash and much to her chagrin Tom Hanks comes over and with his Fox charm gets Rose to "zip zip" the card through the machine? Why, I do believe it is! And isn't that grocery store Zabar's at 80th and Broadway? Yes again! I dropped by today to check it out. What a great store, very cool.

The whole movie is very Upper West Side, so I suddenly feel very sophisticated...

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I've seen a whole bunch of resumes over the last couple of days. At the bottom of the resume is a section called "special skills". This usually includes skills like playing an instrument, horseback riding, ice skating...you get the idea.

Occcasionally actors will include an out-of-the-ordinary skill such as baton twirling, burping on command, and master joke telling.

My favorite so far was a woman who did a "Lena Lamont" impersonation. I couldn't let her leave the room without doing a bit of "I can't stand 'em".

She was a bit taken aback, but quickly responded with an outstanding rendition of "I can't stand 'em". Then our choreographer asked her do say "people, people" and she really got rolling! What fun...

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From an article in The New York Times ("Scenes From a Half-Century Show", Sunday July 24 by Sarah Boxer):

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center is showing "A Community of Artists: 50 Years of the Public Theater," an exhibition of photographs, posters, and other theateralia, until October 15.

It hits all the high notes, and there are lots. Over five decades, the theater has championed many playwrights, some political theater and a few great musicals.

Picture selections include:

1967: "Hair"
If any play captured the spirit of its time, it was "Hair," with its brash hymns to peace and love. It was also the first production in the Public's new permanent home, the former Astor Library on Lafayette Street, where it remains today. The show went on to a four-year Broadway run.

1975: "A Chorus Line"
The director Michael Bennett, center, with the composer Marvin Hamlisch, right, rehearsing the show at the Public. It went on to break the record for Broadway's longest-running musical and wine nine Tonys.

1980: "The Pirates of Penzance"
The Public's shot in the arm to Gilbert & Sullivan proceeded to Broadway, and Hollywood, where it was a 1983 movie, above, with Kevin Kline, front left, and Rex Smith; Linda Ronstadt was the headliner.

In the 1990s, "Bring in 'da Noise, Bring In 'da Funk," with Savion Glover, plumbed the roots of tap. The Public Theater's archive is an unburied time capsule, unearthed.

I saw Bring In 'da Noise, Bring In 'da Funk when it transferred to the Ambassador Theater in 1996 and loved it (I'm a huge tap fan and seeing Savion Glover was a real treat).

I still wear the t-shirt I bought at the theater! The other day I was wearing it and walking by Lincoln Center, when a young male dancer-type passing by said to me, with a smile "Wow, that's an old t-shirt!

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Dear Diary,

Today I spent a wonderful Saturday with one of my Plane Crazy producers, Kendra Bator. She taught me how to use the subway! We went down to Christopher Street and 7th and had a wonderful lunch.

Then we went to the Magnolia Bakery and bought cupcakes (with waaaayyy too much icing on them!) Then we proceeded to walk down to Soho and linger along all the little shops and street vendors.

What a great area!

I've always spent all my time in Midtown, so it was great to finally go exploring! Then we walked up to Union Square and checked out the stage in the Virgin Megastore in Union Square.

That's where Plane Crazy will have the chance to perform selections from the show on September 16 at 7 pm as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival promotion! Virgin is a generous sponsor of the Festival this year and is donating the space and all the sound equipment! I'll keep you posted on specifics for this event! Then it was back on the subway and back home!

What a great city...

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I've tried a couple of times to see Bernadette Peters in Canada!

I did manage to see her when she first opened the Annie Get Your Gun Revival in 1999 in New York. Then I had tickets to see her in Toronto (they were Gala tickets no less, where I would get to mingle with the star!) but she cancelled due to the whole SARS thing. Then she played Casino Rama in Orillia on my birthday (no less) but I was stuck in New York!

Well, according to this article in Playbill, Bernadette Peters will be coming to Ottawa April 27 as part of her extended concert tour in 2006. This might finally be the push we need to take a family vacation to Ottawa! However, I think it's more likely that I'll catch her May 1 at Avery Fisher Hall in New York...

Two-time Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters -- most recently on Broadway as Momma Rose in Gypsy -- has extended her current concert tour through Aug.
2006.

Peters launched her most recent tour Jan. 26, 2005, at the King Center for the Performing Arts in Melbourne, FL. Two tunes from Gypsy bookend her current tour: Peters opens with a new arrangement of Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim's "Let Me Entertain You" and closes with the show stopping "Rose's Turn."

Directed by Richard Jay-Alexander, the concert also includes Peters'
renditions of Sondheim's "Being Alive," "Children Will Listen" and "Not a Day Goes By"; Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Some Enchanted Evening" and "This Nearly Was Mine"; and Jerry Herman's "Time Heals Everything." Concertgoers can also expect tunes by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Irving Berlin as well as the Peggy Lee classic "Fever."

Tour dates currently announced follow:

Sept. 17, 2005 at the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, VA

Oct. 15, 2005 at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts in Brookville, NY

Oct. 22, 2005 at the Zoellner Performing Arts Center in Bethlehem, PA

Nov. 5, 2005 at the Miller Auditorium in Kalamazoo, MI

Dec. 2, 2005 at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts in Storrs, CT

Feb. 18, 2006 at the Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver, CO

April 22, 2006 at the BJCC Concert Hall in Birmingham, AL

April 27, 2006 at the National Arts Center in Ottawa, ON

May 1, 2006 at Avery Fisher Hall in NY, NY

Aug. 25, 2006 at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in Cerritos, CA

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Dear Diary,

Well, I finally made the move from hotel to a real apartment in New York City! A great little place in the Upper West Side! How lucky can you get!

Of course, I do miss the maid service and 24-hour room service...but I don't miss fighting my way through the throngs of teen pageant contestants camped out in the lobby, or the drunken revelers walking past my door at 2 o'clock in the morning!

Of course, I do miss my husband and daughters. Myrna is busy in rehearsals for Annie Get Your Gun, Trinity is busy at art classes and socializing like a butterfly, and my husband is just plain busy -- working, working, working, looking after the kids...oh, and working!

We've spent the last two days in auditions at Ripley Grier Studios at 36th and 8th, so I've been getting my exercise in by walking to and from the studio!

Apparently this is THE audition space nowadays. They are on the 16th floor and very bright, air conditioned and well appointed. Not at all like the crumbling down dim tunnels I had imagined. In fact, auditions for Kathy Lee's latest musical were taking place next to us, so if it's good enough for her, it's good enough for me! I must say it was pretty cool to see the Plane Crazy notice on the door, with my name at the top of the list! Too cool.

And I must also say it was super cool to hear live actors reading my scenes!

I've learned that auditioning is a skill unto itself. I've seen a ton of super-talented people over the last couple of days and talent itself isn't enough. Maybe it should be, but you can't help but be impressed by actors who are on time, well-dressed (with some thought as to the part for which they are reading), have additional music to sing (without frantically flipping back and forth and back and forth and back and forth in their huge books for the one song that shows off their voice), who have memorized their sides, and who walk in with confidence and don't apologize for being flustered because this is their tenth audition today! (way to make me feel important!).

I heard all sorts of songs, some I had never heard before, some old chestnuts, and I even heard Tom Lehrer's "The Masochism Tango"!

But I wish I could tell each and every one of them that the moment they walk in, I am totally on their side. I want them so desperately to be right for the part -- it's their part to lose. I, on the other side of the table, am totally freaking out that we won't be able to find the right person! I want them to succeed!

Here's to the actors!

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Stewardess outfits are getting glammed up again! (Excuse me, I meant to say "flight attendant"...)

From an article in the July 2005 issue of Elle magazine:

FLY GIRLS
Christian Lacroix, the king of over-the-top fashion, creates a first-class collection for Air France.

The Paris-based designer joins fashion luminaries such as Christian Dior, Jean Patou, Cristobal Balenciaga and Hermes, who designed for Air France between the '60s and '80s.

"In a way, Air France and haute couture inhabit the same universe," said Air France president Jean-Cyril Spinetta.

For inspiration, Lacroix drew on his fascination with stewardess style from when he took his first flight from Pairs to Corsica as a young boy. He still remembers thinking the stewardesses were "beautiful, like so many war heroines. They were a bit like nurses, but I had a very aristocratic image of them."

The airline's first new collection in 18 years includes fitted jackets for women with pagoda-style epaulettes, wrap skirts, slim trousers, parkas and shirts with puffs of sky-blue organza at the neck. The dark blue projects authority, and the pale-blue shirts and dresses were chosen to flatter every complexion. The red belt -- a distinctive accent -- is knotted around the waist "like gift-wrapping ribbon," said Lacroix, who designed each element in the collection.

The article goes on to list Fashion's Mile High Club. Here are some highlights:

Air Canada: Debbie Shuchat (2005)
Air Transat: Simon Chang (2005)
Delta Air Lines: Richard Tyler (2005)
Korean Air: Gianfranco Ferre (2005)
Song Airlines: Kate Spade (2004)
TWA: Ralph Lauren (1970s)
Singapore Airlines: Pierre Balmain (1970s)
Pakistan International Airlines: Pierre Cardin (1970s)
Court Line: Mary Quant (1960s)
Braniff International: Emilio Pucci (1960s) (Yeah Pucci!)

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I've been following Suzanne Somers' show over a couple of posts but it looks like I won't get to see it after all!

According to this article in Playbill:

"It will have been a quick ride in the Thunderbird for actress Suzanne Somers, whose Broadway debut in her one-woman show will end on Sunday, July 24.

The New York Post reports that Somers' The Blonde in the Thunderbird will close after receiving mostly negative reviews."

"About the reviews her show received, Somers told the Post, "I put my show out there with the cleanest of hearts and the best of intentions and getting reviews like that hurt...Barry Manilow said Broadway would break my heart, and it has."

Somers, however, added, "The fighter in me is back today. Even though I only have [seven] performances left, they're going to be great performances."

Well, Charles Isherwood of The New York Times certainly didn't pull any punches in this review:

Ms. Somers is, in short, probably not short on cash, which is why it seems forgivable to offer her this stern piece of advice: Should you brave Broadway again, dear, bring a sequin or two. Invest in some bugle beads. Hire a chorus boy or girl. Better yet, hire a half-dozen of each, in assorted sizes. (Perhaps they, too, can be acquired on the Home Shopping Network these days.)

You might even consider a reunion with Tanya the elephant, with whom you shared a friendly professional rapport in Las Vegas some years back, according to "After the Fall" (Crown, 1998), the second of two volumes of autobiography from which this show is adapted. (The first was "Keeping Secrets," Warner Books, 1988.) Perhaps Tanya can be coaxed into co-starring, if she hasn't moved on to that great Vegas showroom in the sky, or signed with Endeavor.

Something is desperately needed, in any case, to dress up "The Blonde in the Thunderbird," a drab and embarrassing display of emotional exhibitionism masquerading as entertainment. Attired in a cruelly clingy black tights-and-tunic ensemble, Ms. Somers re-enacts or describes triumphs and traumas from her personal and professional life for a grinding 95 minutes, on a stage adorned only by a pair of video screens, an armchair, a prop phone and a coat rack. (It is curious, and telling, that Ms. Somers's magnified, two-dimensional presence on the video screens continually draws the focus away from the woman herself.)

Devoted fans may savor this no-frills, quasi-intimate audience with a favorite celebrity and professional dispenser of uplifting advice, but others may find their attention wandering to the coat rack. And resting there.

Some of Ms. Somers's recollections are, regrettably, set to music. A performance of Frank Loesser's "Take Back Your Mink" is spliced into a recitation of a particularly violent encounter with her father. I'm not sure why. The show's writer-directors, Mitzie and Ken Welch, have also provided dreadful new lyrics for some old standards. Dorothy Fields and Jerome Kern's "Pick Yourself Up" is now a song about bouncing checks and seeking solace in shopping. Unfortunately, Ms. Somers's singing voice is thin and often toneless, and the clanging piano chords underscoring the more anguished moments in her history, usually accented by a dramatic clutch at expensively highlighted hair, are giggle-inducing.

Ouch! Generally, whenever you see the words "giggle-inducing" in a review, it's not a good sign. Oddly enough, I still want to see this show...maybe I'll go closing night...

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Whoops...not sure how I missed this...

Disneyland is 50 years old! Hard to believe Walt opened the Happiest Place On Earth (which, by the way, I always thought was Broadway...) fifty years ago. Here's to all the Disney songs and stories that have enchanted us throughout the years and to those that have made it all the way to the theatrical stage! And thanks to Disney for the shot in the arm to Times Square. And thanks to Disneyland for giving many aspiring Broadway singers, dancers, actors and musicians a start in the business!

Among his remarks at Disneyland's official dedication in 1955, Walt said, "To all who come to this happy place...welcome...Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past...and here youth may savor the challenge and the promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America...with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world."

"If you can dream it, you can do it!"

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According to this article in Playbill:

The 2005-2006 season of the 92nd Street Y's Lyrics & Lyricists series will feature five shows designed by five different artistic directors.

Artistic directors for the acclaimed series will include cabaret favorite Andrea Marcovicci, Tony Award winner Ted Sperling, Mabel Mercer Foundation executive director Donald Smith, musical director Rob Fisher and musical theatre historian Robert Kimball.

The season kicks off Nov. 12-14 with Andrea Marcovicci's Kurt Weill in America, which focuses on the songs composer Weill created with such great American lyricists as Alan Jay Lerner, Ira Gershwin, Ogden Nash and Langston Hughes. Marcovicci will host the evenings, which will also feature the vocals of Anna Bergman, Klea Blackhurst, Barbara Brussell, Mark Coffin, Michael McElroy, Jeff Harnar and Maude Maggart. Shelly Markham, who will be featured on piano, is also the show's musical director.

Ted Sperling's Heart and Soul: Frank Loesser's Hollywood will examine Loesser's contributions to the film world, including his work with composers Hoagy Carmichael, Burton Lane and Jule Styne. Concertgoers can expect to hear such tunes as "Baby, It's Cold Outside," "Heart and Soul," "On a Slow Boat to China" and "The Boys in the Backroom." Jeffrey Klitz will be the musical director for the Jan. 29-31, 2006, concerts; vocalists will be announced at a later date.

Donald Smith has entitled his Feb. 25-27 program With Mabel Mercer, the Words Come First, and the evenings will feature several of the songs that made Mercer a cabaret legend. With musical direction by James Followell, the concerts will include vocals by Jeff Harnar, Valerie Lemon, Craig Rubano, KT Sullivan and Lumiri Tubo.

Rob Fisher's program will explore the lyrics and lyricists that influenced Tony Award winner Sheldon Harnick, whose Broadway musicals include Fiorello!, She Loves Me and Fiddler on the Roof. Entitled Sheldon Harnick: Collector's Items, the April 8-10 presentation will feature lyricist Harnick as host with vocalists to be announced shortly.

Johnny Mercer's contributions to the movie musical will be explored in Robert Kimball's Hooray for Hollywood: Johnny Mercer at the Movies. Charles Osgood will host the May 6-8 concerts, and vocalists will be announced closer to the performance date. Among Johnny Mercer's most famous songs are "On the Atcheson, Topeka and the Santa Fe," "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening," "Moon River" and "Days of Wine and Roses."

The 92nd Street Y is located in Manhattan at 1395 Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street. Subscriptions to the Lyrics & Lyricists season -- priced at $250 or $220 -- are now available; single ticket sales ($45 and $55) begin Aug. 8 Call (212) 415-5500 for more information or visit www.92Y.org.

What a line up -- I'm speechless!

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Broadway Downtown!

Just 24 hours in New York City and already I'm seeing great things (big surprise!).

I felt especially New Yorkerish since I was going down to the Village to the Duplex (theduplex.com), which just happens to be on Christopher Street ("such interesting people live on Christopher street!")

The Duplex is a venerable Village fixture that has gone through a number of incarnations, once incubating such talents as Dick Cavett, Woody Allen, and Joan Rivers. Now it has moved from its original location but the place is still an institution: Talk Shows, musicals, improvisational comedies, and gay cabaret reviews are featured there regularly.

I had the distinct pleasure of seeing the wonderfully talented and gorgeous (she was Miss America in 1998) Kate Shindle at the Duplex Cabaret Theatre.

She was doing a show which she entitled "Brian's Songs" since she was performing with Brian Lowdermilk at the piano, an up and coming young musical theater songwriter. I hope I wasn't the only one in the audience old enough to get the reference...

Kate was in Brian's "The Woman Upstairs" which was in the New York Musical Theatre Festival last year.

She also had some special guests -- Sarah Chase, Josh Young (who sang Run Away With Me...and believe me I was ready to, except that I learned his next gig is West Side Story in China!) and Rodrick Covington.

Kate was amazing! Not only did she have the belting pipes, but gave each song such personality and charm (and dynamics thank you very much!) that you really felt you got to know her a little bit over the course of the evening. She did an especially enchanting job of singing as a seven year old, who is showing off her party dress, and her dreams. And she and Brian had great witty banter, which showed their mutual affection for each other.

Some highlites of Kate's bio:

Kate Shindle's Broadway credits include Cabaret (Sally Bowles), and Jekyll and Hyde (Lucy). NYC productions include A Midsummer's Night's Dream (Helena), The Woman Upstairs (Kassan) and the World AIDS Day concerts of Children of Eden (Yonah, NY premiere) and Pippin (Leading Player). Film and television audiences will recognize Kate from The Stepford Wives (Beth Peters). Kate is also in the process of writing a novel, Crown Chasers, because she is very proud to have been Miss America 1998, but also likes to make jokes about it. She lives in Washington Heights, where she got a killer deal on a two-bedroom, and enjoys a good single-malt scotch.

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OK, we got a ton of questions at the Plane Crazy party on Thursday about investing or helping out with the show, so I'm going to summarize the Plane Crazy-ade programs here:

INVESTING
This is, of course, the best way to help us out. We are trying to sell 75 Cdn$1,000 units of Plane Crazy. We have a detailed Investment Letter, which you should read.

Investment Letters can be obtained from Michael Rubinoff, Producer of Plane Crazy via e-mail at mrubinoff@sympatico.ca or by calling 905.886.3110 x27.

Here's the bad stuff about investing in theater: An investment in the Units is speculative, involves a high degree of risk and significant restrictions on transfer and should be considered only by sophisticated investors who are able to bear the economic risks of their investment for an indefinite period of time and who can afford to sustain a total loss of their investment in the Units.

And here's the good stuff: Free tickets to opening night, free invites to the opening night gala, first right of refusal on future investment opportunities, interest on the investment, a carry-forward interest in the show in perpetuity, and the good, warm feeling that comes from knowing you didn't just help a good musical, you helped an important musical.

If you don't want to invest, you can still help Plane Crazy. Other programs include:

PLANE CRAZY "FREQUENT FLYER" PROGRAM
You can help out Plane Crazy by joining our frequent flyer program -- and still get some cool swag.

All frequent flyers get free tickets, an invite to the closing night party, and all the CDs, peanuts, and airline trinkets we can stuff into a barf bag.

Frequent Flyer levels:

$500: Honorary Plane Crazy Captain
$250: Honorary Plane Crazy Stew
$100: Honorary Plane Crazy Passenger

If you are interested in becoming a Plane Crazy frequent flyer, please contact Michael Rubinoff, Producer of Plane Crazy via e-mail at mrubinoff@sympatico.ca or by calling 905.886.3110 x27

PLANE CRAZY "SPONSOR A VIP TICKET" PROGRAM
A big part of our New York Musical Theatre Festival showcase is to get commercial producers, agents, stars, and lawyers out to see the show. For these VIPs, we need to offer them "house" seats.

Help us defray the cost of these "house" seats by joining our "Sponsor a VIP Ticket" program. For only $15, you can help Plane Crazy get a VIP out to see the show. Just think: Your VIP might be the one that helps take Plane Crazy to the next level of commercial success!

If you are interested in joining the Plane Crazy "Sponsor a VIP Ticket" program, please contact Michael Rubinoff, Producer of Plane Crazy via e-mail at mrubinoff@sympatico.ca or by calling 905.886.3110 x27

It takes a big-ass village to get a Broadway show off the ground, so we really appreciate the help we're getting from everybody.

Please extinguish all smoking materials and buckle your seatbelts...Plane Crazy is ready for takeoff!

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So all this talk about "Big-Ass Rock" and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels in my previous post made me want to relisten to The Full Monty, music and lyrics by David Yazbek. I loved the movie, but never got down to New York to see the Broadway show. And David Yazbek was passed over for the Tony on The Full Monty Score and Best Musical as well as for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. In fact, he bills himself on his Web site as a "Two-time Tony Loser"...hehe.

I've always liked The Full Monty CD but I wanted to listen to it again, given how much I love Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

It's always fun to listen to two different scores (The Full Monty and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) by the same composer and pick out the similarities (of course this gets tedious with Lloyd Webber after a while...). In fact, while I was listening to The Full Monty in the car, my youngest daughter commented on the similarity in feel of both the overtures. My oldest daughter heard "Life With Harold" and commented "That is so Here I Am!" (from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels).

After a few listens I've discovered that I really do like this score a lot! Hey, I might even be turning into a bit of a Yazbek fan! Memorable melodies, clever lyrics such as those in "Man" and "Big-Ass Rock", what's not to love?

I don't adore every track, the way I do on Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, but overall I think it's really fun.

I'm sure there's a Tony in Yazbek's future!

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I'm getting on a Jet Plane today and heading down to New York to work on the production of Plane Crazy for the 2005 New York Musical Theatre Festival.

Wish me luck! Come see the show and remember: Try the veal...

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What would Lehman Engel think?

The BMI/Lehman Engel Musical Theater Writing Workshop and its offspring (Theatre Building Chicago's Musical Theatre Writer's Workshop is one of them, which is taught by John Sparks, who worked with Lehman Engel for many years as part of his West Coast workshop), teach that there are basically three kinds of musical theater songs:

1. Ballad;
2. Charm song; and
3. Comedy song.

Traditionally, comedy songs were lyric-driven, but most often rhythmic as well, if not out and out uptempo. "I'm Just A Girl Who Cain't Say No" from Oklahoma! and "It Sucks To Be Me" from Avenue Q are comedy songs whereas "I Enjoy Being A Girl" from Flower Drum Song and "Hey Look Me Over" from Wildcat are charm songs.

Ballads were traditionally reserved for emotional moments, characterized by the legato nature of the melodic line, and not as worried about the clever rhymes. Examples include "If I Loved You" from Carousel and "All I Ask of You" from Phantom of the Opera.

Lately however, I've been seeing big swishy ballads used for comedy. "Love is My Legs" from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and "The Song That Goes Like This" from Spamalot. In both songs it is the swishy legato melodic line that is an important part of the comedy, in addition to the lyric. "The Song that Goes Like This" is pretty much a complete spoof of the big Lloyd Webber romantic ballad. Of course, Spamalot's chandelier helped deliver the spoof as well...

So why do I like "Love Is My Legs", but not "The Song That Goes Like This"? Why does the latter's parody bug me, but not the former's? I guess it's because, to me, the Spamalot ballad is complete parody. The lyrics don't really serve a purpose other than to parody the genre. At least in "Love Is My Legs", the lyrics are more character- and plot-driven and are right for that moment in the show, helping the story along.

Interestingly, another ballad comedy song that I love is from The Full Monty, also written by David Yazbek (who also wrote Dirty Rotten Scoundrels). "Big-Ass Rock" is hilarious, as it talks about various way these guys can help their friend commit suicide. Here is an excerpt from the lyrics from the liner notes of the Broadway cast recording:

BIG-ASS ROCK

Let's find a rock
I mean a big-ass rock
Or maybe something like
A cinder block is better
I'll hoist it up
And drop it on your face, my buddy

And just before the lights go out
You'll see my smile and you'll know you've
Got a friend
With a rock
Who cares,
I mean a big-ass rock...

Slow, but funny!

Maybe I do spend too much time thinking about these things...

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Randy Slovacek's choreography has been seen across the country, from the 11,000 seat Muny Theater in St. Louis to 99 seat off-Broadway theaters in NYC.

His credits include choreographing and supervising the national touring company of Hello, Dolly! starring Carol Channing, several companies of A Chorus Line from Texas to Massachusetts and regional productions of They're Playing Our Song, Promises Promises, and Chicago among others.

He has also contributed choreography for star-studded benefit performances such as Lerner, Loewe, Lane & Friends for the S.T.A.G.E. benefit in Los Angeles, Donna McKechnie In Concert in NYC, as well as One Singular Sensation celebrating the genius of Michael Bennett in Kansas City.

In addition, his choreography was showcased in the feature film Slammed. In addition to his choreography credits, he has had the great opportunity to collaborate with such Tony Award winners and nominees as Donna McKechnie, Thommie Walsh, Lee Roy Reams, Jerry Herman, and John Herrera.

As an actor, Randy has appeared on Broadway in Follies, Chicago, and Hello, Dolly!, as well as the national touring companies of A Chorus Line, Cats, 42nd Street, Chicago, and Hello Dolly!.

He has a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre from Syracuse University and is a proud member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Actors' Equity Association and the Screen Actors Guild.

He is currently developing a new musical based on the songs of Mary Chapin Carpenter.

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We are pleased to announce that Seth Weinstein will take the helm as musical director of Plane Crazy at the 2005 New York Musical Theatre Festival.

Seth Weinstein has been the musical director of numerous musicals and cabaret shows in and around New York City, including regional productions of Titanic, Rags, Fiddler on the Roof, Closer Than Ever, A New Brain, and Side Show.

He recently returned to New York City after 18 months on tour with the international tour of Fosse starring Ben Vereen. His musical How to Save the World and Find True Love in 90 Minutes (a collaboration with Jonathan Karp) was produced for last year's NYMF, and he is currently developing a new orchestral work -- a synthesis of Russian classical styles, Jewish klezmer music, '50s rock, blues, and gospel -- to complement noted lecturer Vivian R. Jacobson's presentation on Elvis Presley and Marc Chagall.

Seth has gone "plane crazy" himself over the past decade, vacationing in more than 60 countries on five continents.

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Well, last night's Plane Crazy party was a smash!

It was great having so many friends and family out to support the show! I get on a plane Sunday with a one-way ticket to New York, and I don't know when I'll be back again, but you can count on regular Plane Crazy progress reports here on Blogway Baby and over at Plane Crazy NYMF 2005.

I want to extend some special thanks. Firstly, to my creative team of Michael Rubinoff, Producer, who did an excellent job of MCing the event; to Kendra Bator; Associate Producer, who added such great sizzle and energy to the event; to Jamibeth Margolis, Director, who helped make the performance portion of the evening a great success; and to Mitchell Kitz, Orchestrator, whose wonderful orchestrations bring the music to life.

Of course, the highlight of the evening for me was the 30-minute mini-version of the show. It's always so exciting to hear your music live, performed by real professionals. At the piano of course was the amazing Mark Selby, who manages to make those 88 keys sound like an entire band; and I was blown away by the incredible vocal performances of Breanne Arrigo, Graham Coffeng, and Sherry Garner. I just wish we could use our amazing Canadian talent under the Equity showcase code in the U.S. Don't worry guys, we'll make it back to Toronto as a full production before you know it...

And of course, a special thank you to my daughters. To Trinity, who drew the door prize: Nice job honey! And to Myrna, who closed the performance portion of the evening with a beautiful rendition of "I Need You" from Plane Crazy: Thanks, you nailed it.

Finally, a special thank you to Ed Ongpauco and the staff of the Granite Club who pulled off a flawless event, and made the whole thing look so polished and professional.

Next stop: BROADWAY...

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Wow, the scoops just keep on coming, fast and furious.

My daughter, Myrna Conn, has won the role in "Minnie" in this summer's production of Annie Get Your Gun, starring Louise Pitre and Billy Ray Cyrus, which I've talked about in this original post, and yesterday's Scoopfest on Billy Ray Cyrus.

Myrna's bio in the program will read:

Myrna has appeared as Eponine in LES MISERABLES -- THE SCHOOL EDITION for Michael Rubinoff Productions; Billie in HONK! for City Youth Players; and Randolph Macafee in BYE BYE BIRDIE for CharActors. Myrna's vocal coach is the fabulous Elaine Overholt.

Myrna's first Broadway show, at the age of 5, was the revival production of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, starring Bernadette Peters and Tom Wopat. It was an experience that left an indelible impression on Myrna, and so she is doubly delighted to be appearing in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN as Minnie.

The show will appear at Massey Hall, and opening night is Tuesday, August 2. The show is scheduled for a limited run, so buy your tickets NOW! Tickets are available by phone, online, or at the box office:

PHONE
Massey Hall at 416.872.4255; or
Ticketmaster at 416.872.1111

ONLINE
Massey Hall
Ticketmaster

BOX OFFICE
60 Simcoe Street
Monday to Friday 10 to 6, Fridays noon to 5

Yeah Myrna! You rock, girl!

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A Blogway Baby Scoopfest! (Just don't tell my heart, my achy breaky heart!)

According to the Web site for the concert version of Annie Get Your Gun starring Louise Pitre opening August 2, 2005 at Massey Hall in Toronto, Billy Ray Cyrus will be playing Frank Butler.

Up until now all advertisements have featured Paul Brandt, a Canadian country music star (who is, I believe, is based in Nashville) in the Butler role.

Egads, this is so last minute! I wonder what happened! I know there's a story there somewhere...Paul Brandt's Web site cites "personal reasons"...

Well, there's no business like show business!

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Finally, a reason to see the show all the way through!

According to this article in Playbill:

Glenn Close and Ewan McGregor will star in a film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Sunset Boulevard, the UK's Daily Telegraph reported.

Close who won a Tony Award for her portrayal of Norma Desmond in the Broadway version of the show. McGregor is currently starring in the West End as Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls. He previously starred in another movie musical, "Moulin Rouge."

Austin Shaw, who is co-producing the film, told the Telegraph, "We are making the film with Paramount and it should be out in time for Christmas 2006."

The 1950 film "Sunset Boulevard," directed by Billy Wilder, concerned an out-of-work screenwriter named Joe Gillis who happens upon the home of former silent-screen star Norma Desmond. William Holden and Gloria Swanson starred in the film, which won three Academy Awards. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black's musical version debuted in London with Patti LuPone as Norma. Other Normas included Betty Buckley, Elaine Paige, Glenn Close, Diahann Carroll, Petula Clark, Helen Schneider, Linda Balgord and Debra Byrne.

Maybe if I had seen Sunset Boulevard in London with Patti Lupone I would have loved it. But I was so unimpressed with what I saw at the Toronto Centre For The Arts (then called the Ford Centre), that my husband and I left at intermission.

Actually, I don't remember much of that evening (all I know is that Diahann Carroll was sick that night) so perhaps it does deserve a second look. I like Ewan and Glenn a lot. I like the original movie with Gloria Swanson well enough. And I loved the Carol Burnett spoof. So why shouldn't I love the movie musical?

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Wow, 18 years today...it's been the best 5 years of my life!

I got married on the hottest day in July in Kingston, Ontario, 18 years ago today. It's seems so long ago, yet so recent at the same time.

I remember everyone melting, literally melting, from the heat, but my adorable hubby and I didn't notice a thing...until we got back to our hotel to change for our honeymoon. At that point it suddenly dawned on us that my wedding dress and his tux were COMPLETELY SOAKED. I mean seriously, it was like we'd been swimming in our clothes!

Anyway, it was a beautiful wedding, with Don Nightingale as our MC, and all our friends and family out to wish us well, although privately many grumbled that we were WAAAAAAAY too young to get married and it would never last.

Well, we WERE way too young, but it's lasted just fine thank you very much, and my hubby and I love each other even more today than that wonderful day 18 years ago. Thanks honey!

The one thing I wish I could have preserved from that day is my first dance with my father. My father was a distinguished Hungarian gentleman who could really cut a rug in his day. We got up after my new husband and I had danced to Witchcraft and did a beautiful waltz around the room. My Dad passed away 12 years ago, but how I wish I could dance with him again...

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"Singing in a summer Wonderland..."

Apparently there is a cool musical theater "rock" show playing at the Paramount Theatre at Canada's Wonderland.

Breanne Arrigo, who did an amazing job on the "Turbulence" song demo for Plane Crazy is appearing in "SCHOOL OF ROCK Live in Concert" at Canada's Wonderland.

She's doing 10 shows a day! They only run 30 minutes, but still: Whew!

According to the Canada's Wonderland Web site:

School of Rock Live In Concert

Paramount Canada's Wonderland, VAUGHAN, Ontario (March 7, 2005) -- Get ready to rock! Paramount's blockbuster feature comedy, School of Rock, backed by Hollywood's big-screen, comedic genuis Jack Black as joyfully rebellious, anti-hero Dewey Finn, will premiere as a live rock and roll revue this summer at Paramount Canada's Wonderland. Paramount presents SCHOOL OF ROCK Live in Concert as a celebration of the power and ageless spirit of rock and roll, with a fresh, fast-paced story-line, engaging characters and the foot-stomping roar of live rock music.

SCHOOL OF ROCK Live in Concert is a wildly energetic, high-voltage, live rock concert that celebrates the hit Paramount film as the story and characters from the original movie are reprised and merged seamlessly with extraordinary, raw acoustics and first-rate rock concert theatrics. The Paramount Theatre will buzz with concert quality audio, spectacular lights, pyrotechnics, video, and special effects; all supporting a 10-member cast that includes a live band performing a play list of unforgettable rock and roll classics.

Straight A's are not required! A penchant for stage dives, 20-minute face-melting guitar solos and the belief that one great rock show really can change the world, is the ticket. Rock Enroll!

Ah, there's nothing quite like a face-melting guitar solo! But you can't argue with a pun like "Rock Enroll"!

Breanne tells me they have quite a following. Some people (ranging from the appropriately young to the inappropriately older) come and see all their shows, get tattoos of cast member names, develop tribute Web sites and...well, you get the idea...

When I was in high school I always wanted to sing and dance in a show at Canada's Wonderland. At least now I know someone in a show there. Does that count?

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Somer's one-woman show, which was scheduled for a pre-Broadway run in Toronto, opens today, July 8, in New York City (the Toronto run was cancelled).

Question: How did the idea for The Blonde in the Thunderbird come about?

Suzanne Somers: In the best way possible -- it was not part of the agenda. [Laughs.] I hired Ken and Mitzie Welch, who are the last of their kind. If you ever loved "The Carol Burnett Show," they wrote all those great musical numbers -- that great "Gone with the Wind" [sketch]. They won 16 Emmys between them...they're just fantastic. In fact, Ken Welch was the first person that ever put Barbra Streisand on television, so these people go all the way back. I had hired them 15 years ago to punch up my [Las Vegas] act. We sat and talked and sat and talked, and they came back and they had written me this 15-minute production number of my getting the part in "American Graffiti." And, it was fantastic, except that I was doing a jazz act. It was so Broadway-esque that I couldn't slug it into my act. It just didn't work, so I put it on the shelf. And, several years later they started working with Barry Manilow, who is my best friend, and he called me one day and he said, "They played me that piece they wrote for you. If you just did that..." [I thought] I should hire them to do a whole act around that. So we sat and talked for days, weeks, months, and they started turning in material to me. One day I said, "This isn't an act. This is a one-woman show!" And, we all kind of realized that it is, and that's how this came to be, and it's just been the past intense four years of working on it -- this labor of love and joy and creativity. And it's exciting. I love this piece so much!

Okay. I was unsure as to whether to go see this. I thought perhaps the Toronto cancellation was due to some problems with the show, last minute creative emergencies or the like. But reading the background on the writers, Ken and Mitzie Welch, this show has rocketed to the top of my list! I mean the Gone With The Wind sketch from The Carol Burnett Show for goodness sake! And how cool is it that Suzanne is best buds with Barry Manilow!

Okay, I admit it -- I'm a child of the '70s!

"Come and knock on our door..."

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We are pleased to announce that Jamibeth Margolis will take the helm as director of Plane Crazy at the New York Musical theatre Festival.

Recent New York City directing credits include: Far From The Madding Crowd for the 2004 New York Musical Theatre Festival at the 47th Street Theatre, Berlin at Theatre 315, Dear Maudie at the Triad Theater, Owl Creek: A New Musical (AEA Commercial reading, showcase, and backers' audition in NYC, and Ithaca College Production), and Party Of One at Helen's.

She was the assistant director to Jerry Zaks for A Bad Friend, by Jules Feiffer, at Lincoln Center Theatre and was also a 2004 member of the Lincoln Center Directors' Lab.

She has also directed many cabarets, readings, regional theater productions (most recently Wildhorn's Jekyll And Hyde at the Arvada Center in Denver), and is currently involved with the development of a number of new musicals. Jamibeth is also a professional casting director.

She has worked in New York City for Johnson-Liff Casting, Cameron Mackintosh, and currently Margolis-Seay Casting. Casting credits include many Broadway shows, national tours, Off-Broadway shows, and regional theater productions. Her favorite casting credits include the six years she served as casting director for the Broadway and National Touring Companies of Les Miserables, The Phantom Of The Opera, and Cats.

She has a B.A. in Drama/Directing from Ithaca College and is a proud member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Actors' Equity Association, and the Casting Society Of America.

Stay tuned for more developments...Plane Crazy is cleared for takeoff!

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I wonder what he is going to do with all that extra cash?

According to the Globe & Mail Review section ("Lloyd-Webber Has Four Fewer Theatres To Haunt", July 6, 2005) Andrew Lloyd Webber is:

...on the point of sealing a deal to sell four of his 12 West End theatres. The sale would change the face of London's theatre district, with a big new theatre owner entering the West End fray. Lloyd-Webber is expected to announce a sale this week to the Broadway producer Max Weitzenhoffer for about 11million pounds. Weitzenhoffer stands to acquire the Garrick, Apollo, Duchess and Lyric theatres, all own by Lord Lloyd-Webber's Really Useful Group, now the biggest theatre-owning company in London.

Lloyd-Webber has said he wishes to sell to a buyer who would respect the traditions of the properties. He will also retain the theatres that host musicals.

Weitzenhoffer has long harbored a desire to gain a foothold in the West End. If the sale comes off, his company will become the biggest theatre owner in the West End by next January.

Weitzenhoffer produced "The Will Rogers Follies" and "Harold and Maude" on Broadway, among others.

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According to this article in Playbill:

With London's transport network having effectively ground to a halt after the explosions that hit buses and underground trains early on July 7, almost all West End theatre performances for that night have been canceled.

"Unfortunately, it has proved too difficult in most cases to assemble casts, crews and theatre staffs," a spokesperson for the Society of London Theatre (SOLT) told Playbill.com. "However, we all hope that it will be business as usual tomorrow, although whether the Underground trains are running again by then will be key."

The status of all London shows as reported by SOLT, for the evening of July 7 (all matinees were canceled) is as follows:

Mamma Mia (Prince of Wales) - performance canceled
Shakespeare's Globe - performances canceled
Open Air Theatre - performances canceled (contact box office on July 8 for ticket exchanges)
Soho Theatre - performances canceled
Some Girls (Gielgud) - performance canceled (ticket exchange or refund offered)
The Postman Always Rings Twice (Playhouse) - performance canceled (ticket exchange offered)
Telstar (New Ambassadors) - performance canceled (ticket exchange offered)
The Home Place (Comedy) - performance canceled (ticket exchange offered)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Palladium) - performance canceled
The Far Pavilions (Shaftesbury) - performance canceled
Billy Elliot – The Musical (Victoria Palace) - performance canceled
The Mousetrap (St.Martin's) - performance canceled
Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others (Lyric Hammersmith) - performance canceled (the theatre will try and exchange all tickets for future performances)
The Genius of Ray Charles (Theatre Royal Haymarket) - performance canceled
Fame (Aldwych) - performance canceled
Saturday Night Fever (Victoria Apollo) - performance canceled
National Theatre – all performances and platforms canceled
Little Red Riding Hood (Almeida) - performance canceled (additional performance scheduled for Sunday, July 10)
tick, tick...boom! (Menier Chocolate Factory) - performance canceled (the theatre will try and exchange all tickets for future performances)
The Phantom of the Opera (Her Majesty's) – performance canceled
Les Miserables (Queen's) - performance canceled
Mary Poppins (Prince Edward) - performance canceled (ticket exchange or refund offered)
The Shaugraun (Albery) - performance canceled
The Countess (Criterion) - performance canceled
The Woman in White (Palace) - performance canceled
The Producers (Drury Lane) - performance canceled
The Lion King (Lyceum) - performance canceled
The Woman in Black (Fortune) - performance canceled
Guys and Dolls (Piccadilly) - performance canceled
Hedda Gabler (Duke of York's) - performance canceled
As You Like It (Wyndham's) - performance canceled
This Is How It Goes (Donmar Warehouse) - performance canceled
Blood Brothers (Pheonix) – performance canceled
Chicago (Adelphi) – performance canceled

London was hit in the early hours of July 7 with a seemingly coordinated series of bombings at several subway stations and one double-decker bus. A police official told the New York Times that explosions had taken place at or around the subway stations at Edgware Road, King's Cross, Liverpool Street, Russell Square, Aldgate East and Moorgate. At least 40 people have been reported dead and more than 350 injured.

A terrorist group associated with Al Queda is claiming responsibility.

The attacks came one day after London learned it had won the right to host the 2012 Olympics. They also coincided with the annual meeting of the "G-8" group of industrialized nations in Gleneagles, Scotland.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said, "Just as it is reasonably clear that this is a terrorist attack or a series of terrorist attacks, it is also reasonably clear that it is designed and aimed to coincide with the opening of the G-8."

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Wanna see Plane Crazy in New York?

Tickets are ONLY $15...

Here are the details:

PERFORMANCE DATES
Thursday, September 15 at 8:00 pm
Saturday, September 17 at 4:30 pm and 8:00 pm
Monday, September 19 at 4:30 pm
Wednesday, September 21 at 1:00 pm
Friday, September 23 at 4:30 pm
Saturday, September 24 at 4:30 pm
Sunday, September 25 at 1:00 pm

VENUE
The Beckett
410 West 42nd Street
South side of West 42nd Street
Between 9th & Dyer Avenues

GETTING TICKETS
Tickets are only $15, so they get snapped up quickly. In fact, last year most of the shows sold out in the first couple of days.

There are three ways to get tickets:

1. Invest in Plane Crazy and get two tickets, plus access to house tickets. To find out more about investing in Plane Crazy, click this link.

2. Join NYMF (New York Musical Theater Festival) and be entitled to buy tickets on August 1, before the rest of the public. Join by clicking this link.

3. By an individual ticket with the rest of the public on September 1 (quantities limited)

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Here's a bit of gossip a little bird told me...

According to my source, Carole King was originally involved in writing songs for Happy Days the Musical, which I talked about in this previous post. Apparently, for some reason, she walked away from the project completely, leaving the songs she wrote behind.

In the program for the reading that was held recently in New York, she isn't credited at all for music and lyrics, just Paul Williams. I also heard that the Carole King songs were the best ones...

But since I wasn't there myself, that's just "earsay"...

In addition, when Carole King was performing at Casino Rama recently she sang one of her songs from Happy Days the Musical. I have a feeling this ain't over yet...

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The most fun you'll have singing Edelweiss!

According to this article in Playbill:

The interactive musical evening, Sing-a-Long Sound of Music, returns to the Hollywood Bowl July 9.

"Bring the family and cheer for Maria, boo the Nazis, and cherish this cinematic masterpiece" reads press notes. The 6 PM evening, which begins with a costume parade, will be hosted by Melissa Peterman with the von Trapp Children as special guests. The pre-show will be followed by the 8 PM presentation of the "Sound of Music" film.

The Sound of Music originally opened at Broadway's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in Nov. 1959. Mary Martin headed a cast that also included Theodore Bikel and Patricia Neway. Julie Andrews starred in the award-winning film, and the most recent Broadway revival featured Rebecca Luker as the beloved Maria von Trapp. The classic Rodgers and Hammerstein score boasts such tunes as "Do Re Mi," "My Favorite Things," "The Sound of Music" and "Climb Ev'ry Mountain."

The Hollywood Bowl is located at 2301 North Hollywood Avenue in Hollywood, CA. For tickets, call (323) 850-2000. Visit www.hollywoodbowl.org for more information.

"The Trapp Family Singers," Maria von Trapp's 1949 book that inspired the musical The Sound of Music, was based on the musical family who fled the Nazi rule prior to World War II.

What a blast! I enjoyed this even more than watching the Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Roxy in my wild youth!

We actually saw Sing-a-long Sound of Music twice when it was playing in Toronto, once with just the family and once we built a whole birthday party around it for my oldest daughter.

The first time I went dressed up as "...a brown paper package tied up with string...", although the costume was pretty ripped up by the time the costume parade happened.

The second time we all went dressed as nuns for the party (my husband was a very manly nun!). What a great outing for a kids party. They get to watch a classic movie musical and learn a little history, but also get to yell, scream, hiss, cheer, sing and play with all the goodies from the goody bag. Too bad they havn't done this with more musicals. Perhaps they should consider doing the sing-along format with The Producers movie when it comes out in December -- now that would be a blast!

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Unlike the New York Musical Theatre Festival, the Toronto Fringe Festival is not jury selected. It is done by chance, by lottery. There's always tons of variety, some great, some not so great. But hey, for $10, who's complaining? The Toronto Fringe Festival runs July 6-17, 2005.

Unfortunately, lady luck didn't smile upon me and I didn't get picked for a spot in the Fringe, but two of my musical theatre associates did...

Brock Simpson, a fellow member of the ACLCL is producing his show at the Fringe this year. Here's the info he sent to me:

Brockspeare Productions Presents
LUST'S LABOUR'S LOST: A ROCK MUSICAL
World Premiere at Toronto Fringe!

TARRAGON THEATRE MAINSPACE, 30 Bridgman Avenue, Toronto

Thurs, July 7 at 8:15pm
Fri, July 8 at 1:30pm
Sun, July 10 at 5:45pm
Mon, July 11 at 6:15pm
Tues, July 12 at 9:45pm
Fri, July 15 at 10:30pm
Sun, July 17 at 3:15pm

Ticket Prices: $10. For More Info Call the Fringe Hotline at 416.966.1062
or www.fringetoronto.com

I also got the following message from Michael Coady who played Sam Crenshaw in the 2004 workshop of Plane Crazy at the Poor Alex. He is appearing in a musical in the Fringe:

OZ RECALLED: A Musical Comedy about a Middle-aged Dorothy

directed by Timothy French
written by Jesse Stewart
choreography by Marc Kimelman
assistant directed by Elenna Mosoff

featuring Sharron Matthews

Also featuring: James Quigley, Michael Coady, Jesse Stewart, Lena Palermo, Peter Windrem, Sedina Fiati, Labe Kagan, Julia Harper, Laura Azahar, Catherine Braund, Patty Burchell, Julia Feldman, Allan Gillespie, Lindsay Kramer, Robert Laughton, Rob Sutherland

VENUE: The Walmer Centre Theatre
in the Walmer Road Church, 188 Lowther Ave.

Visit Website for map, etc. www.OzRecalled.com

SHOW SCHEDULE: (90 minute runtime)
Wednesday July 6 @ 8:00pm
Thursday July 7 @ 8:00pm
Friday July 8 @ 8:00pm
Saturday July 9 @ 4:00pm
Wednesday July 13 @ 8:00pm
Thursday July 14 @ 8:00pm
Friday July 15 @ 8:00pm
Saturday July 16 @ 4:00pm
Tickets: $10

Whatever happened to Dorothy after her first turn through Oz? What became of her friends in the sometimes merry -- sometimes scary Land of Oz? Would a mid-life crisis, combined with being electrocuted on a 'B' movie-set, be a good time for Dorothy to check-in with Oz again? And what's a big Broadway style dance-musical, with live band, doing in the Fringe Festival anyway?

"A funny, raucous, exuberant romp with clever dance numbers and catchy melodies." -- Kingston Whig Standard

Break a leg guys!

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"On this day of independence, on this independence day" as Bing sang in Holiday Inn, the Declaration of Independence will be front and center:

According to this article in Playbill:

As it has for the past 18 years, the town of Williamstown, Massachusetts, will host a reading of The Declaration of Independence on July 4.

Williamstown is, of course, the home of a noted theatre festival, and this year members of the company will get in on the act. Ellen McLaughlin, and actress and playwright who will be in the Williamstown Theatre Festival's production of Top Girls this summer, will read The Declaration of Independence, as well as the Preamble to The Constitution. New WTF artistic director Roger Rees, meanwhile, will take on the role of the villain: he will read the British response to the Declaration.

The event will take place at 11:30 AM on the second floor of the Chaplin Library, located in Stetson Hall on the Williams College campus behind Sawyer Library. Admission is free.

"There's gonna be fireworks!"

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I'm just watching High Society right now and WOW...what a great movie. I've seen it a million times on afternoon TV in the '70s, but I haven't caught it in a while.

With a score by Cole Porter, High Society is a musical remake of The Philadelphia Story, which originally starred Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, and Jimmy Stewart. From Amazon:

In 1940, Katherine Hepburn's movie career was in desperate condition. Her 1938 film BRINGING UP BABY, although recognized as a Howard Hawks's masterpiece today, was at the time a box office failure. The failure signaled the temporary end of demand for her talents in Hollywood, although she had HOLIDAY in the can (and costarring, like both BRINGING UP BABY and THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, Cary Grant). So, she went back to the stage, in a play written specifically for her, and the subsequent hit was an unexpected and triumphant return to the screen for Hepburn. Her career never looked back again, especially when two years later she teamed with Spencer Tracy for the first time. Ironically, she originally requested that Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy play the Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart roles.

THE PHILADELPHIA STORY is such an extraordinarily well-done film that one can watch it repeatedly, reveling each time in new and hidden details. It strikes the perfect balance of being spectacularly well-acted, hysterically funny, and delightfully silly while maintaining an elegant veneer. The cast is nearly overwhelming in its quality, with Hepburn and Grant turning in especially fine performances. Jimmy Stewart is also superb, though he won an Oscar for this year that he probably didn't deserve. The Academy in 1940 may have been giving him the award as an apology for not having won the year before for MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON. Unfortunately, this meant that Jimmy Stewart's best friend Henry Fonda failed to win for one of the finest performances in the history of American cinema, as Tom Joad in THE GRAPES OF WRATH. Still, although the Oscar clearly should have gone to Fonda, Stewart manages a great turn. He and Grant manage a great moment when Stewart adlibbed a hiccup, and Grant, not batting an eye, adlibbed, "Excuse me." The rest of the cast is flawless. Too many excel to mention, but special mention must be made of Roland Young as Uncle Willie, Virginia Weidler in a marvelous turn as Tracy Lord's precocious younger sister, and the erstwhile Errol Flynn nemesis Henry Daniell as the devious and unscrupulous Sidney Kidd.

Although this film holds up magnificently upon reviewings, there is nothing like seeing it for the first time. I remember vividly how exciting it was to watch this in the lamentably demised Lincoln Theater in New Haven, Connecticut, having absolutely no idea how the film was going to end only five minutes before the closing credits. Who will Tracy marry? Will she marry? How will the film managed to tie up all the loose ends.

I have a list of my all time favorite lines from films. One of my favorites comes from this one. On the morning after Tracy has gotten rip-roaringly drunk, she has almost no memories of what happened, but what she does recall makes her fear that she might have been in a compromising situation with Jimmy Stewart. After Stewart assures the confused and fearful Tracy Lord that nothing happened because she was drunk and "there are rules about that sort of thing," the infinitely relieved Tracy says, "I think men are wonderful."

The film has managed to permeate our culture in subtle ways, from inspiring musical remakes, to providing famous adult movie stars with their names, to providing foundations for jokes (in the Rocky and Bullwinkle adventure "The Ruby Yacht of Omar Khayyam," whenever Bullwinkle sees his jewel encrusted small boat, he mutters under his breath, "Yar, yar").

First of all, Grace Kelly is GORGEOUS. I don't think there's anyone like her today...the only person that approaches her in the looks department is Nicole Kidman, but Grace Kelly is much more natural to watch (prolly 'cause she's not fighting off an Australian accent while she's acting), more graceful, and more naturally beautiful.

Celeste Holm (who originated the role of Ado Annie -- singing "I Cain't Say No" -- in Oklahoma on Broadway, and who is still alive) and Frank Sinatra do a fantastic number with all the wedding gifts called "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?" It is a wonderfully inventive number where they use the different pieces of wedding silverware to modify their voices and to create sounds and movement to punctuate the song. Pure movie musical magic.

And Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong do a number together called "Now You Has Jazz" that is pure scat heaven. Plus, I loved the mansions...I want a mansion in Newport for Christmas!

As an aside, there's a big "hangover" scene near the end which makes me think "I'd hate to be hung over in the '50s"...all those tight dresses and formal clothes don't make a hangover look like much fun. Track pants are the only way to go if your head's on fire...

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This is the most amazing story, as told by Richard Ouzounian in Thursday's Toronto Star: How Adam Brazier, on a tryout for The Woman in White in New York was chosen by Andrew Lloyd Webber to star in The Likes of Us, the new (old) musical that is re-uniting Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. What a great business!

Show about Dr. Barnardo reunites feuding partners

By RICHARD OUZOUNIAN
THEATRE CRITIC

From buffed boy-toy to Victorian social reformer in one short year.

It was only 12 months ago that Unionville-born Adam Brazier was playing the naughty title role in the Shaw Festival's hit Pal Joey. And on Monday he started rehearsals in London for The Likes of Us by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

The musical about Dr. Thomas Barnardo is actually the first show ever written by the world-famous team behind Jesus Christ, Superstar and Evita. It was never produced, but the duo is revisiting it now, nearly 40 years later, to help mark the centenary of Barnardo's death.

Barnardo is the man who attempted to improve the lot of nearly 60,000 impoverished street children in 19th century London by sending them off to homes he established around the world -- including one in Peterborough.

"My head is still reeling," says the 30-year-old Brazier from his hotel in Covent Garden. "Two weeks ago, I would have thought this was impossible. Whose life did I steal?"

It started on June 15, when Brazier flew down to New York to audition for the romantic lead in the Broadway version of The Woman in White, Lloyd Webber's current London hit.

He obviously made an impression because a few days later, he got a call from the Really Useful Group, Lloyd Webber's producing company, asking if he was free to play the central role in The Likes of Us.

"This was a Monday," recalls Brazier, "and I asked them when I had to leave. They said Sunday, and I was like, 'Why not?'"

Brazier will be taking part in the central event of the annual Sydmonton Festival, a private arts festival that Lloyd Webber holds each summer at his country estate 85 kilometres southwest of London, where he is officially known as Baron Lloyd Webber of Sydmonton.

Workshops here have launched such shows as The Phantom of the Opera, Aspects of Love and Sunset Boulevard. Lloyd Webber invites an audience made up of the élite of the British theatrical profession, and their opinions of the production often determine whether or not it will continue.

The festival always attracts major interest, but it will be higher than usual this year, because this marks the first time in over 25 years that Lloyd Webber and Rice have worked on a show together.

After their trio of initial amazing successes (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ, Superstar and Evita), they parted acrimoniously.

An attempt to reconcile them during Cats ended even more bitterly when Rice submitted a lyric for "Memory," only to have it rejected.

The show business world is wondering how the two former chums and partners will get along after all this time.

All of this is pretty heady stuff for Brazier, whose first performing memories centre around entertaining the crowds at the CNE who flocked to his father's Tiny Tom Donuts stand.

Brazier graduated from George Brown theatre school in 1996 and went straight into the Stratford Festival for two seasons. After that, he dabbled in film and TV before landing the highly coveted role of Sky, the young bridegroom, in Mamma Mia!

Brazier starred in the show's original Toronto production in 2000 and then went on tour across North America.

A stint on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning revival of Into the Woods followed, as well as starring roles in the last two Ross Petty Christmas pantomimes.

Brazier and the company will rehearse in London for two weeks before moving on to Sydmonton and the gala performances on the weekend of July 8.

After that, nothing is set, but Brazier will admit that the casting people for The Woman in White have ordered him to take no other jobs until they make their final decision.

"I'm sitting here in my hotel room," says Brazier, "listening on my tape recorder to a few of the songs I get to sing being banged out on a piano. These are songs no one has ever heard, written by two of the most important figures in the world of modern musicals. I am bewildered by my good fortune and every night I count my many blessings."

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Well I finally saw The Producers in New York! Last night I went to the St. James Theatre to see Richard Kind as Max Bialystock and Roger Bart as Leo Bloom produce Springtime For Hitler.

Great seat -- S2 -- the last row of the orchestra on the center aisle. The theater is so intimate that I felt incredibly close and the sightline was great. I really think that is part of the reason for the early demise of The Producers in Toronto. I saw it there on opening night and I was up in the nose bleed balcony of the Canon Theatre and you miss so much of the business and energy on stage. My new policy is, if you can't see the actors spit come out of their mouths, you're sitting too far back! Ideally, you can feel it too!

I loved the show! Richard and Roger were AWESOME. Richard Kind played Max Bialystock. He really harkened back to Zero Mostel's Max in the 1968 movie. He had a nice combination of decrepitness and lovability. He was loud, brash and very commanding on stage. And great facial responses and business throughout the whole show -- he could really milk a moment.

Everyone knows I love Roger Bart. But really, he was great as Leo. His physical and vocal humor is great and his singing chops are perfect for the role. The two had a really nice energy between them as well. The blue blankie stuff was hilarious, not cloying and forced as it had been in Toronto.

There was one moment when Roger Bart almost lost it in the scene where he is quitting his clerking job and tries to hand over his visor. It was stuck, and he kept tugging at it. You could see the smile forming on his face. I love stuff like that. Also the scene in Roger Debris apartment when he is interacting with Carmen Ghia (played very campily by Brooks Ashmanskas) there was a neat positive energy between the two of them, since Roger Bart had been nominated for a Tony for the Carmen Ghia role!

The whole cast was great -- Frans Liebkind (John Treacy Egan), Roger Debris (Jonathan Freeman) Ulla (Angie Schworer) and the ensemble too.

And the little old ladies were fab!

The whole thing clocked in at almost three hours, but didn't feel long to me. Interestingly, they've cut the little dialogue bit that Roger Debris has during "Springtime for Hitler" when he is sitting on the stage a la Judy Garland. But they did do the tap challenge.

I just love this show. I know not everyone does but the music and lyrics are great and I've always had a soft spot for Mel Brooks' humor since my dad was a big fan. People say the reason it didn't run in Toronto, was that it is a "New York" show. I guess, but the audience (which was packed) appeared to be mostly tourists.

Did I mention I had a good time?

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