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Plane Crazy Closing Night...Whew!
 Wow, what a ride! After the months of preparation, the weeks of rehearsal, the opening night party, and nine sold-out performances, Plane Crazy has officially finished its debut at the 2005 New York Musical Theatre Festival. To be honest, I'm left a little speechless by the whole experience, so I'm not going to say too much right now. I'll just revert to that old chestnut, the stew check! Okay, girls, line up for inspection! 1. A wonderfully supportive and understanding family, and a husband-slash-marketer extraordinaire? Check! 2. Producers who believed in me these past couple of years, and who really dug in wherever they were needed to make the show happen? Check! 3. An outstanding creative team, who worked tirelessly to bring my vision of Plane Crazy to life? Check! 4. An amazing cast who breathed life and humor into my characters and made my music sing and soar? Check! 5. Support, both financial and emotional, from friends and colleagues? Check! 5. A genuine New York Times Review? Check! 6. Long walks home from rehearsals on perfect summer nights past Lincoln Center and Columbus Circle, all lit up like in the movies? Check! 7. Celebrity spotting on the Upper West Side? Check! 8. Standing in the longest express line in the history of the world for my dinner-to-go from Whole Foods? Check! 9. Rehearsing in the room next to Patti Lupone and the cast of Sweeney Todd? Check! 10. Late night grilled cheese at the diner across from my very own New York pad? Check! 11. Meeting Thommie Walsh, the original "Bobby" in A Chorus Line, at MY show! Check! 12. Delivering an invitation to Hal Prince's office in Rockefeller Center? Check! 13. Hot summer fling with a younger actor? Uh...well...no...but, hey, that wasn't in the budget anyway... For the next week I'm going to enjoy the Festival, and take some time off to decompress. So, I'm going to take my first official Blogway Baby vacation of 2005 and for the next two weeks it's going to be all about ME. I'll be back October 11. Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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Doubt -- "A Parable" by John Patrick Shanley
 No doubt here! I am certain this is a great play! Last night I was able to score half price tickets from TKTS to Doubt at the Walter Kerr Theatre. I doubt if that really means ticket sales are slacking off, 'cuz the house was packed to the rafters last night. Starring Cherry Jones and Brian F. O'Byrne with Heather Goldenhersh and Adriane Lenox, Doubt runs 90 minutes without an intermission. But the time flies by without a rustle from the audience. I'm not going to do an in-depth review, since I am still trying to figure out all the angles and levels of this show. Something to chew on for a while, as they say. But suffice it to say the writing is incredible and the acting by all parties is outstanding. I was afraid this show was going to be dour and lethargic, but it was potent, funny and beautifully paced, and you get totally carried away with the emotions of the moments. If you have a chance to see it, see it. Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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New Dramatists Presents: The Art of Writing Musicals
Last night I went to a free (!) panel called "Pen and Swill: The Art of Writing Musicals" put on by New Dramatists and NYMF. It was an hour-long panel discussion featuring: Marsha Norman (Pulitzer and Tony award winner) who is currently working on the book for The Color Purple. David Lindsay-Abaire who is currently writing the books to the musicals of Shrek, High Fidelity, and Betty Boop. Rinne Groff who is a current resident playwright at New Dramatists. Karen Hartman who is a current resident playwright at New Dramatists. Julia Jordan who is a current resident playwright at New Dramatists. Cheryl L. Davis who wrote, among others, Barnstormer (with composer Douglas J. Cohen). It's great just to sit and listen to people in the business talk about what they do. It wasn't a "how-to" session, which I wasn't expecting, but more of a chat session. It was interesting to hear the ones who wrote just book talk about their relationships with the composers and lyricists. Most liked to write the entire play first, to be in charge of plot and character development entirely and then give it over to the composer/lyricst to plunder material for songs. They didn't seem to want to develop the piece in tandem with the composer/lyricists -- too many cooks! It made me feel better to hear someone like Marsha Norman talk about the constant evolutionary process of creating a musical -- they are on their third "opening number" for The Color Purple! She also described a musical as a "love story with a great final scene". She also brought up the challenges of writing a musical nowadays when everyone is so knowledgeable about all aspects of the world. South Pacific was written at a time when most people found that area of the world mysterious. Nowadays the only "far away place" left is the past, which is why so many musicals take place there. They all agreed that when looking for a piece that would be suitable to musicalize, one should look for something that has an emotional heart, not too complex and somewhat iconic. And unlike in plays, when a character walks on stage in a musical, that is who they are and their character will remain pretty much unchanged until the end of the musical. You can't really do murder mysteries, because when a person sings, that is his/her inside voice so secrets are harder to keep from an audience. Interesting! Thanks to a great panel! From the program: About New Dramatists In 1949 a committee of playwrights led by Michaela O'Hara founded New Dramatists in order to "find gifted playwrights and give them the time, space and tolls to develop their craft, so that they may fulfill their potential and make lasting contributions to the theatre." For 56 years, New Dramatists has achieved this mission through our playwright development program, which includes our play and musical reading series, international playwright exchanges, administrative support for our resident playwrights, playwriting grants and awards, fellowships for emerging writers, and our ongoing advocacy efforts on behalf of playwrights in the national theatre community. These programs benefit approximately 50 talented playwrights and support well over 100 play and musical workshops, seminars, artist exchanges, and panel discussions each season. Beyond creating uncountable works for American stages, our writers have earned an array of awards including 13 Pulitzers, 23 Tonys and 59 Obies. In June of 2001, New Dramatists was awarded a special Tony Honor for Sustained Excellence in the American Theatre. In May of 2005, the Village voice Obie Committee awarded New Dramatists the Ross Wetzsteon Award.
Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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The Music of Stephen Weiner
 Boy, that Richard Todd Adams can really sing, huh! (or "Waffles!") Last night I went out to the concert "Stephen Weiner: Songs of Love & Aggravation", presented by NYMF and Prospect Theater Company at 59E59 Theaters. With music by Stephen Weiner, and lyrics by Laura Szabo, Susan DiLallo, Peter Mills, Glenn Slater, and Stephen Weiner, the concert featured Richard Todd Adams, Michael Arden, Sebastian Arcelus, Jessica Ball, Jen Blood, Todd Buonopane, Andrea Burns, Dennis Driskill, Melissa Egan, Liz Larsen, Brian Munn, Evan Pappas, Lindsay Quinn, Bruce Sabath, Richard Vida, Marla Weiner, Laura Beth Wells, and Dan Yates; with musical Direction by Daniel Feyer and directed by Cara Reichel. I love this kind of concert. Different songs from Weiner's different shows that have either been produced, or cut from shows, or written for shows for which the writers couldn't get the rights, or written for a specific concert. Incredible variety, performed by fabulous singers...all for $15! They were all great performers, but I have to highlight two of my favourites -- Richard Todd Adams and Jen Blood. Jen sang with the wonderful Sebastian Arcelus on one of my favorite numbers "Celebrity Sambas" from the musical newyorkers. It's about two "star f@#$kers" who are at a club watching different celebs. The song was so funny because it was so incredibly acted by the two singers. Jen was incredible. Looking back, I think the comedy songs overall were my favourite throughout the evening. Richard Todd Adams (who currently is playing Brett Mansford in Plane Crazy) is an extraordinary performer. He started off the show leading the ensemble on "More" from Tom Jones (one of the 165 adaptations apparently...the downside of public domain...) and ended the concert singing "Manhattan 4 am". He is a commanding stage presence, he has an unbelievable voice and he also has incredibly natural comedic ability. He can deliver both an emotional ballad which leaves you wishing he would continue singing, even if it is just from the phone book, and a full out comedy song. Richard sang the hilarious "Quando Scungili" in a wonderfully funny Italian accent. Too bad it was a one-night-only concert... Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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Forbidden Broadway -- Take 2!
 Yoko Oh No! Last night a whole bunch of Plane Craziers (Venusians?) went to see fellow Plane Crazy cast member Craig Laurie in Forbidden Broadway. They had added some new material, and since Craig subs in, he had minimal rehearsal time to get the new bits down. You'd never know that by the way he performed -- wow! It was the second time I'd seen Craig and the rest of the Forbidden Broadway gang, but although I appreciated the funny new stuff, I still laughed my head off at the old stuff. My fav is still Light In the Piazza. Megan Lewis is an amazing comedienne and together with Craig as the Italian heartthrob they really steal the show. One of the new bits was a bit on "Lennon" and Yoko Ono. Craig comes walking down the aisle in a cowboy hat singing "Oh what a beautiful jukebox" (I may be paraphrasing...) and proceeded to sing "Yoooooko ono" to the tune of "Oklahoma"! Then out comes Forbidden Broadway's version of Yoko Ono, who doesn't want to be "remembered for breaking up the Beatles, but rather for destroying Broadway". Very funny. I had heard from my inside sources that Lennon had been troubled all along by the fact that Yoko Ono came to all the rehearsals and performances and gave notes directly. Finally, when the director started to get fed up, she had him fired! Judging by the parody displayed on the Forbidden Broadway stage, that seems to have been common knowledge! Needless to say, we went nuts when Craig took his bow! Bravo! Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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[title of show] Plugs Plane Crazy
 Thanks guys! This totally made my day when I read this interview in Broadwayworld.com with Hunter Bell and Jeff Bowen, the creators of [title of show]: HB What shows are you going to see at NYMF this year? JB: Bonnie and Clyde, because Heidi Blickenstaff is starring...and I think Plane Crazy. We met Suzy Conn last year and she's awesome.HB: We didn't talk much about [tos] or what NYMF means to us.JB: Not really. But don't you think it's interesting that [title of show] takes some of its article and promotes Plane Crazy?HB: It's not un-interesting.In between seeing Plane Crazy and other awesome shows at NYMF, come see [title of show] at Ars Nova. For dates and ticket info, rock www.titleofshow.com.
For anyone who hasn't seen it, [title of show] is one of the most brilliant productions I have ever seen. I pissed myself and fell off my seat I was laughing so hard...and if you're a writer, it's doubly funny. I'm seeing it again on Tuesday the 27th... Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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All Shook Up To Close September 25
 Talk about your Heartbreak Hotel... According to this article in Playbill: All Shook Up, the Elvis-inspired musical that stars Cheyenne Jackson and Jenn Gambatese, will play its final performance at the Palace Theatre Sept. 25. All Shook Up began previews on Broadway Feb. 20 with an official opening March 24. The musical will have played 33 previews and 213 regular performances. A national tour of the musical, according to a press statement, is being planned. All Shook Up, which boasts a cast of 30, also features Jonathan Hadary, Leah Hocking, Curtis Holbrook, Nikki M. James, John Jellison, Alix Korey, Mark Price and Sharon Wilkins. The musical has a book by Joe DiPietro, choreography by Ken Roberson with additional choreography by Sergio Trujillo. Christopher Ashley directed. All Shook Up tells the story of "a small town girl (Gambatese) who dreams of hitting the open road, and the guitar-playing stranger (Jackson) who brings romance, rebellion and rock 'n' roll into her life." Among the Presley tunes heard in the show are "Heartbreak Hotel," "Burning Love," "Love Me Tender," "Can't Help Falling in Love," "Jailhouse Rock," "Blue Suede Shoes," "A Little Less Conversation," "Hound Dog," "Don't Be Cruel" and "All Shook Up." All Shook Up plays Wednesdays-Saturdays at 8 PM with matinees Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2 PM and Sundays at 3 PM. Tickets are available by calling (212) 307-4100 or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com.
Although I'm not typically a big fan of jukebox musicals, there was something about this one that I found fun and engaging! From that first bitter night in January when I saw it in Chicago to the hot August evening in New york when I saw it with my husband, I've always come out of the theatre thoroughly entertained. I actually went out and bought the original Broadway cast recording today! Here's to the great cast! Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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Billy Does Broadway!
 There are 400 "Billys" in Broadway History...How Many Can You Name? Plane Crazy's very own Sarah Mugavero (who plays Janet Jones) is starring along with Aaron Letrick and Masae Okano in "Billy Does Broadway" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street (Restaurant Row) in NYC. From the promotional postcard: The most famous of all Bills once penned... All the world's a stage,And all the men and women merely players;They have their exits and their entrances,And one man in his time plays many parts...But one part has been played many times...Billy 100 years of Broadway has given us the most popular name in theater history almost 400 times! "Billy". "Billy Does Broadway" presents some of the biggest in cabaret fashion. How many can you name? Created by Aaron LetrickWith special thanks to Jana Llynn and Dan ZittelChoreography by Rod HarrelsonMusical Direction by Richard Lissemore
If you've heard Sarah sing in Plane Crazy you'll want to run and buy tickets to this very cool sounding evening! If you haven't heard her sing, then don't miss this chance to hear a fabulous voice for only $10 cover and 2 drink minimum! For tickets call 212-757-0788. Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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Plane Crazy Opening Night Party on Broadwayworld.com
 Our fabulous Opening Night party was covered by Broadwayworld.com, and they posted it today with TONS of pictures. Check out the cute one with my daughters! The pic to the left here is of Hollie Howard, who plays Holly Banks, and Michael Rubinoff, producer of Plane Crazy. Plane Crazy opened at the NYMF Festival on Saturday Night, September 17th and BroadwayWorld was there! With book, music and lyrics by Suzy Conn, Plane Crazy is directed by Jamibeth Margolis and features choreography by Randy Slovacek, with musical direction by Seth Weinstein.
Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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Audience Support for Plane Crazy
 Here's a terrific post from Talkin' Broadway: WOW! What a musical! If Broadway only had a musical like this, it wouldn't be in doldrums it is in now. Fast, funny, with serious themes, this lively musical features excellent direction by Jamibeth Margolis, and knockout choreography by Randy Slovacek. Suzy Conn, a triple threat if ever there was one, has written the book, music and lyrics which are literate and intelligent, touching and very, very funny.The design team -- Jason Lee Courson (scenic), Elizabeth Payne (costumes), and Jesse Belsky (lighting) -- are to be commended for creating a colorful, vital environment. Courson inventive design keeps this moving at a rapid clip.Standout performers include Hollie Howard who is destined to go very, very far. She has a magical presence on stage, and is a born scene stealer. I see many Tony Awards in her future. Richard Todd Adams is exemplary as the romantic lead. His number with Sara Mugavero (as Janet Jones) is one of the evening's many show stoppers. William Broderick does well as the head of the airlines.Everyone in the ensemble deserve kudos for their high-energy level. And, it looks like they are all having a great time on stage! I hope that "Plane Crazy" gets a run after the NYMF (with this entire cast, of course). It certainly deserves it.
Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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Charles Phoenix: HISTO-TAINER and Pop Culture Maven
 Mmm...my pop culture fix of the day from BoingBoing. I don't think it's any surprise to Blogway Baby readers that I'm a HUGE fan of all things mid-century...from kitsch to modernist. It looks like Mark Frauenfelder has dug up a Los Angeles based pop-culture historian, archivist, vintage slide collector and 'histo-tainer' named Charles Phoenix, who, under the banner of "God Bless Americana", performs his unique slide show of amateur shots from the '40s, '50s and '60s, publishes books, holds Retro Schoolbus Field Trip tours, and is an expert on many things Americana. From this post on BoingBoing: Charles Phoenix slide of the week: miniature garden railroad, LA County Fair, 1952. California 20th century populuxe historian Charles Phoenix has collected a zillion photo slides taken in the 1950s and 1960s and he travels around giving slide show presentations to large audiences. He also has a fun "slide of the week" mailing list. Every year I recommend the gigantic kitsch fest to even my most jaded and snooty friends -- and they love it too!!! And if you think the fair is beneath your station in life -- think again -- really! I'm here to tell you it is Southern California's BEST KEPT SECRET. The grand scale pop-culture gadget, garden and barnyard showcase is set in a treasure trove of vintage architecture, public art, neon signs, landscaping and unique permanent attractions from the '20s, '30s, '40s and '50s. While Disneyland celebrates its 50th year the Los Angeles County Fair continues in Pomona where it began 83 years ago in 1922. Pomona, by the way, is the city named for the Roman Goddess of Fruit -- how perfect is that!
Among the endless wonderland of mesmerizing things to see there is this week's slide of the Sunset Drive-in Movie Theater in THE MINIATURE GARDEN RAILROAD, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FAIR, POMONA, 1952. The Sunset Drive-in is Southern California's oldest and most charming outdoor movie theater. The screen is a television, the cars are promotional models. The show still starts at dawn every year during the fair. Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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Plane Crazy Appearing Tonight at Virgin Records Union Square
 I'm still on Cloud Nine from Opening Night last night. Thank you to the cast and crew for an incredible performance, and thanks to the audience for such a generous reception. So, onward: Tonight we're at Virgin Records, Union Square, doing a free "mini-performance". According to this article in Broadwayworld.com: Plane Crazy Cast to Perform at Virgin Records Megastore-Union Square Friday 9/16 This Friday, September 16, Plane Crazy, now playing the New York Musical Theatre Festival, will offer a free public performance of select musical numbers at the Virgin Records Megastore -- Union Square at 8:00 p.m. The cast of this new musical comedy will perform: I WANNA GET MARRIED/MR. RIGHT NOW, DANCING ON AIR and VENUS FLYTRAP featuring Allison Spratt, Sarah Mugavero, Hollie Howard, Richard Todd Adams, Erin Crouch, Barbara Helms, Kathryn Mowat Murphy, Gina Philistine and Dana Saltzman. (The Plane Crazy cast also features Erin Crouch, Kevin Kraft, Christopher Guilment, William Broderick, Eric John Mahlum, Craig Laurie, and Nicky Venditti). With book, music and lyrics by Suzy Conn, Plane Crazy is directed by Jamibeth Margolis and features choreography by Randy Slovacek, with musical direction by Seth Weinstein. Plane Crazy is set against the backdrop and glamour of the swinging '60s jet age -- a time When Stews Were Sexy and the World Was Sexist. (TM) Plane Crazy follows the adventures of two young Venus Airlines stews, Faith Hope and Janet Jones, as they learn about love and life in the high-flying airline business, circa 1965. Faith (played by Allison Spratt) is a naive, virginal Mid-western gal looking for Mr. Right; Janet (played by Sarah Mugavero) is a randy, cynical New Yorker who is just looking for a good time. Through their friendship, they both find the inner strength to overcome the obstacles and sexism encountered in the air and on the ground. Plane Crazy is playing at the Beckett Theatre/ Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street). Visit online at www.planecrazythemusical.com to meet the Plane Crazy team.
Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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Plane Crazy Opening Night!
 Dear Diary, Oh what a day! And that was a top chop too! Well, September 15 will always be a date I'll remember. I opened off Broadway in New York City! The day started early for the creative team. 9 am load-in of the set, props and costumes. Then the teching began! Light cues, sound cues, running sheets...a never ending technical race against time! The cast was called at 1:30pm and after getting a head mic tutorial they were ready for the stop and start run through at 2:30pm. What was doubly exciting for me was that my husband and kids were flying in from Toronto to share opening night with me! Once you're in the actual space new problems pop up and have to be dealt with on the fly. The costume designer was working full speed to get the costumes ready for opening night! I was there watching the tech run, but as the author you start to feel a little like it's out of your hands at this point. Everyone is running around doing important stuff and you realize there isn't a lot you can do. So I went out and got lunch for the lighting crew! We set up two huge Plane Crazy posters in the lobby and boarding signs on the desk. Ben Strothmann was taking photos of the tech run for use in press reviews of the show (gulp). The cast was released for dinner at 6:30pm and I got glammed up for the big night. It was so cool to see into the female change room. Makeup, costumes, shoes, everywhere! It was so exciting to see the sign at the box office " Plane Crazy Sold Out". And then people started arriving! My husband and kids arrived on time and I got my opening night present from my family -- vintage Pucci sunglasses from the '60s. They are incredible! eBay rocks! Lots of friends and family of the cast and crew were there, which is always great to have on Opening Night! We sat in the back to get a better overview of everything. And then the show started. I was alternately excited and freaked out! I tried to just sit back and enjoy the show but it was hard. The cast did an amazing job and the crew really out did themselves. I was so proud of everyone. What a thrill! It seemed to go by so quickly. New business emerged on stage which is always cool to watch, and amongst the crowds guffaws, I could hear my friend Norm (our official London correspondent) laughing! After the show the cast came out and mingled. The crew still had to load everything back into the truck to make way for the next show! What a job! My husband got into the act moving set pieces and costumes. Whew! We finally went out for a beer with Norm to celebrate. The official Plane Crazy party is Saturday -- we thought opening night would be too long a day for people to really enjoy a party. After we bid Norm adieu, my husband and I and two very tired kids piled into a cab and went home. Sweet. Photograph by Ben Strothmann. Ben Strothmann has been photographing portraits and live theatre for 10 years. Since building his first darkroom in his hometown of Milwaukee WI, his portrait studio now looks out over Manhattan where he shoots headshots for actors and cd covers for musicians. Born to a famous cheesecake lady (Suzy Strothmann of Suzy's Cream Cheesecakes), Ben is also an actor and pianist. Currently he lives in Astoria and studies guitar and Icelandic. See www.benstrothmann.com for more info. Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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It's Opening Night!
 The last couple of days have been Crazy...and now it's Opening Night! Yes, it's opening night! I cannot honestly believe that Opening Night is finally here. On one hand, it feels like it's been a long time since I found out I had gotten into the Festival, and on the other: No time at all. Part of me has been counting the days until this night, and part of me doesn't want it to come, so that this experience never ends (sort of like Christmas...). But it came, just the same! (btw, does anyone ever get all these recursive references?) How can I explain what this experience has meant to me? That despite the ups and downs, ins and outs, the forwards and backwards, there is nothing I would rather be doing. How can I really express how touched I am at all the support and encouragement I've received? And then there's the good old fashioned FUN I've had living and working on my musical in New York! Because this is a festival, today is a long day. All festival shows tech and open on one day (which is certainly not the case on Broadway!) So I'll take a moment to say kudos to the creative team and cast who are running this marathon! And here is my note that appears in our "Planebill". I think I summed it up pretty well: A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR PLANE CRAZY opening on 42nd Street in New York City! A dream come true. These last few months have been an emotional whirlwind of excitement, fun, hard work, and amazing collaboration. I have tried to savour each and every moment. PLANE CRAZY is a very personal story about the challenges that women face as they are pulled between the demands of motherhood and opportunities of a career. I set Plane Crazy in America of the 1960s...the optimism and spirit of those times has always appealed to me, and it gave me an opportunity to really explore my four favorite aspects of that decade: the emergence of Feminism; the dawn of the Jet Age; the Golden Age of advertising; and the general explosion of pop art and culture. Writing PLANE CRAZY was a real labor of love, and seeing it come to life on the stage has been incredibly rewarding. I have to thank everyone who believed in me, challenged me, and expected great things of me and wouldn't settle for less. My producers Michael Rubinoff and Kendra Bator who were willing to take the time to develop this project properly. My amazing creative team and cast who have worked tirelessly on my baby. My investors who were willing to put their money where my heart is. And NYMF for having such good taste. But most of all I have to thank my greatest fans -- my family. My mom, my two beautiful daughters Myrna and Trinity and my wonderful husband Grad. Without their love, inspiration, and unconditional support, PLANE CRAZY would still be just an idea flying around in my head. PLANE CRAZY is dedicated to my father, Thomas Ibronyi, who first introduced me to the excitement and glamour of transatlantic air travel at age five. SUZY CONN
Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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Plane Crazy Opens Tonight
 Playbill posted a really nice news item about our opening tonight...with a great pic of the leads. According to this article in Playbill: Coffee? Tea? Do Re Mi? Plane Crazy, Musical About Ladies of the Jet Age, Takes Off in NYMF Sept. 15-25By Kenneth Jones15 Sep 2005 The high-flying good old days -- when flight attendants were called stewardesses and galley meals were made to order -- soar again with Plane Crazy, the new musical about a time "when stews were sexy and the world was sexist."The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) and Michael Rubinoff, in association with Kendra Bator, present the U.S. premiere of Suzy Conn's musical comedy, Sept. 15-25 at The Beckett at Theatre Row.Plane Crazy features book, music and lyrics by Conn, direction by Jamibeth Margolis, choreography by Randy Slovacek and musical direction by Seth Weinstein."Plane Crazy is a very personal story about the challenges that women face as they are pulled between the demands of motherhood and opportunities of a career," lyricist-librettist-composer Conn told Playbill.com. "I set Plane Crazy in the America of the 1960s...the optimism and spirit of those times has always appealed to me, and it gave me an opportunity to really explore my four favorite aspects of that decade: the emergence of feminism; the dawn of the jet age; the golden age of advertising; and the general explosion of pop art and culture. Writing [it] was a real labor of love, and seeing it come to life on the stage is incredibly rewarding."*The musical is "set against the backdrop and glamour of the swinging '60s jet age -- the intersection between the dawn of transatlantic airline travel, the introduction of the Pill, the genesis of the modern Feminist Movement, and the Golden Age of Advertising -- a time in history when stewardesses represented an exclusive sorority of women with the freedom to choose their careers and their sexual partners," according to production notes.Plane Crazy follows the adventures of two young Venus Airlines stews, Faith Hope and Janet Jones, "as they learn about love and life in the high-flying airline business, circa 1965."Faith (played by Allison Spratt, of Good Vibrations) is billed as "a naïve, virginal Mid-western gal looking for Mr. Right," while Janet (played by Jodie Langel, once of Les Miserables) is a randy, cynical New Yorker who is just looking for a good time."Plane Crazy also features Hollie Howard as Holly Banks, Richard Todd Adams as Brett Mansford, Kevin Kraft as Clive Miller, William Broderick as Sam Crenshaw and Christopher Guilmet as Larry Stevens.The ensemble includes Barbara Helms, Craig Laurie, Eric Jon Mahlum, Sarah Mugavero, Kathryn Mowat Murphy, Gina Philistine, Dana Saltzman, Ryland Shelton and Nicky Venditti.The design team for Plane Crazy is Jason Courson (scenic design), Elizabeth Payne (costume design), Jesse Belsky (lighting design) and Tony Angelini (sound design).Lyricist-librettist-composer Conn divides her time between Toronto, New York, and Chicago, where she is enrolled in the Theatre Building Chicago, Musical Theatre Writer's Workshop. She's in the workshop process with a second musical, The Tale of Pigling Bland (co-written with Mitchell Kitz), "a classic coming of age pig story based on the Beatrix Potter story of the same name."Like all NYMF shows, Plane Crazy runs in repertory at various times. The eight performances at The Beckett at Theatre Row, 410 W. 42nd Street, are Sept. 15 at 8 PM, Sept. 17 at 4:30 PM and 8 PM, Sept. 19 at 4:30 PM, Sept. 21 at 1 PM, Sept. 23 at 4:30 PM, Sept. 24 at 4:30 PM, Sept. 25 at 1 PM.Tickets are $15 each and available through www.TheaterMania.com, or by calling (212) 352-3101 or visiting www.nymf.org.For more information, visit www.PlaneCrazytheMusical.com.
Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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The Fabulous New York Musical Theatre Festival Gala
 Dear Diary, Tonight was the kickoff to the New York Musical Theatre Festival! The NYMF Gala at last! Jamibeth, Seth, Kendra and Ray Zilberberg (our new invaluable production assistant) met ouside Dodgers Stages before 8:00pm to pick up our tickets. Michael Rubinoff was supposed to join us but was busy running around the city driving a truck, taking care of set issues! The first part of the evening was a performance of The Great American Trailer Park Musical. This was one of the shows that I had seen last year at NYMF, and has been subsequently picked up for an Off-Broadway run. It was very cool to see a more elaborate production of a show I had seen at the Festival! I also enjoyed seeing Marya Grandy again, who was part of the original NYMF cast, and who plays Linoleum ('cuz her mother gave birth to her on the kitchen floor). I remember taking notice of how great she was last year -- her voice is amazing and she is wildy funny. Of course our director, Jamibeth Margolis (who knows everyone in New York!), knew Marya and introduced us after the show. Interesting bit of trivia -- she is the daughter of Fred Grandy, who played Gopher on The Love Boat (and of course he was a four-term congressman). Needless to say, I found that way cool! After the show we went downstairs to the reception where we drank margaritas and ate chicken fingers and schmoozed! I met up with Rob Asselstine whose show Frankenstein Do You Dream had been in the Festival last year, and who runs the ACLCL in Toronto. He has been very supportive profiling Plane Crazy in all his newsletters so it was great to finally thank him in person. I also got to meet up with David, whom I had worked for last year as a volunteer at the Festival! It was great to catch up and he promised me he'd catch the show. It was a great opportunity to thank everyone at NYMF personally, for giving us the extra shows and supporting us so well. In addition, today was the venue load-in for The Beckett, so I also heard good reports from NYMF that the Plane Crazy staff was more than pulling its weight! Tomorrow -- back to rehearsal and countdown to opening night! Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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Plane Crazy Full Band Rehearsal. w00t! w00t!
 Dear Diary, Whew -- Another long day of rehearsal! But an exciting one! We did a full run-through which was great, and worked on the scene transitions, which is like a scientific formula! It's great to really see the flow of the show. This is the start of a big week! We have two more days of rehearsal and then on Thursday we have our big tech and opening night! Holy Sexy Skies Batman! We give the cast line notes, which are given out on special forms. These forms note the character, the page in the script and whether the line was forgotten, switched, paraphrased, changed etc. And whether this note had been given before, or not. But the most exciting part of the day was the band and cast sing through! Also known as a "sitzprobe", this is the first time the cast hears the music done by the full band. Rehearsals are strictly piano only, so this is very exciting. Seth did a fabulous job of rehearsing the band and integrating the cast vocals, and of course, playing. It went very smoothly, and I was seriously rockin' out to "That Was Then This Is Now"! In our fabulous Plane Crazy band will be: Seth Weinstein, conductor/keyboardJohn Bell, associate conductor/pianoGreg Germann, drumsJames Bettincourt, bassFelipe Salles, tenor saxophonePeter Kikidakis, tenor saxophone (September 24 performance). Tomorrow: The fabulous NYMF opening Gala! Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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The Astaire & Rogers Collection is FINALLY Released on DVD
 FINALLY...I thought they would never release the Astaire & Rogers movies on DVD. These movies are an incredibly important part of my childhood, a building block of my life. I spent countless days staying home from school with "tummyaches" and watching these movies over and over again on the black & white TV in my parent's basement. Sitting in that basement, on my own, watching the magical world of Astaire & Rogers unfold had a huge impact on me. I knew then that I wanted to be part of that world. There have been times over the years when I've questioned my parents' wisdom of letting me miss so much school. But now, with the perspective of time, I can't thank them enough... There is a brilliant and incredibly thorough review of the Collection on Playbill by Steven Suskin, author of the forthcoming "Second Act Trouble" [Applause Books], "A Must See! Brilliant Broadway Artwork," the "Broadway Yearbook" series, "Show Tunes," and the "Opening Night on Broadway" books. He can be reached by e-mail at Ssuskin@aol.com. According to this article in Playbill: These films have special meaning for Broadway fans. With the depression eating away at Broadway production, the theatre's best composers -- Kern, Berlin, Gershwin, Porter, Rodgers and more -- all went Hollywood, where tennis courts and bank accounts were considerably greener. Thus, some of the best show tunes of the decade -- "A Fine Romance," "Cheek to Cheek," "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," "Just One of those Things," "Isn't It Romantic" and more -- were written not for shows but for films. Nevertheless, they qualify as show tunes in function (to delineate character) and form (which is often several steps more complex than the catchy tunes otherwise written for the screen). First and foremost is Swing Time. Kern was in his third, and final, stylistic period; at this point in his career, he could write just about anything, often with startlingly good melodies. Lyricist Dorothy Fields on the other hand, was still relatively early in her career (at 31); even so, Swing Time includes what I consider her finest set of lyrics. Take the unwieldy, ten-word phrase she came up with to describe a very human experience: "pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start all over again." Mr. Kern set it to a perfectly snappy melody, but this is not the most obvious basis for a song lyric. A perfect song, as is "A Fine Romance." Here is another in a line of boy girl "I'm not in love songs," but Fields makes it as everyday (and genuine) as you might hear on the street. "We should be like a couple of hot tomatoes, but you're as cold as yesterday's mashed potatoes." Add to this the moody and fascinatingly constructed "Never Gonna Dance" and one of the most ravishing ballads ever, "The Way You Look Tonight," and you've got a dream of a score. There is also "Waltz in Swing Time," Russell Bennett's arrangement from Kern themes, which provides the basis for a remarkable dance. The songs are more than supported by an amusing story; tip-top choreography, by Astaire and Hermes Pan; and Fred and Ginger Rogers, in finest form. Also on hand are Broadway hams Victor Moore and Helen Broderick, doing what they did so well. Moore is still remembered along Broadway for his partnership with Billy Gaxton; the team starred in such musicals as Of Thee I Sing and Anything Goes. Broderick was the character comedienne in such musicals as Fifty Million Frenchmen and As Thousands Cheer, as well as one of Fred's co-stars in the 1931 revue The Band Wagon. She was also the mother of an Oscar-winning Best Actor, Broderick Crawford of All the King's Men. If any unsuspecting reader suggest they turn Swing Time into a stage musical, let me suggest that they'd better have a reasonable facsimile of Astaire and Rogers on hand, as well as a sense of style and sense of humor. For further details, see Never Gonna Dance -- or better yet, don't. Top Hat has the same Astaire and Rogers of Swing Time, three tip-top Berlin songs, and even the same droll Ms. Broderick (with Edward Everett Horton in lieu of Moore). The story is not quite as strong, nor are the visuals as delectable. Even so, it makes a worthy companion. "Cheek to Cheek" might well be my favorite Berlin song; it is far more adventurous than most of his music, as a result of which he gives us three delectable melodic strains. "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails" -- "I'm puttin' on my top hat," it goes -- might well be the best song of it's kind. Berlin also turns on the charm with "Isn't It a Lovely Day (to Get Caught in the Rain)." If the rest of the score falls off, everyday Berlin is still more than satisfactory. Shall We Dance is the lesser of the top three, but how can you go wrong with George and Ira's "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," "They All Laughed" and "They Can't Take that Away from Me"? The five-disc Astaire & Rogers Collection is crammed with intriguing extras -- shorts, cartoons, trailers, and documentaries. Top Hat features commentary from Fred's daughter Ava Astaire; Shall We Dance is accompanied by comments from the great Hugh Martin (who is still very much alive and kicking, at 91) and pianist Kevin Cole (whose playing style -- according to Harold Arlen, Kay Swift and Irving Berlin -- sounds uncannily like George).
Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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All shows for Plane Crazy are now COMPLETELY SOLD OUT
 Well, we just added a ninth performance and **poof** it's SOLD OUT too! I don't even have a seat anymore! We understand that a lot of people want to see the show, and we're now fielding tons of "special requests". Here's your best strategy for getting tickets to the show: 1. We have a few house tickets in reserve, which we will release 20 minutes before curtain. So, if you don't mind waiting a few minutes, come to The Beckett, Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street (Between 9th and 10th Avenues) at any of our show times: DATESThursday September 15 at 8:00 pmSaturday September 17 at 4:30 pm and 8:00 pmMonday September 19 at 1:00 pm and 4:30 pmWednesday September 21 at 1:00 pmFriday September 23 at 4:30 pmSaturday September 24 at 4:30 pmSunday September 25 at 1:00 pm The afternoon performances are your best bet for this strategy... 2. Send a special request to Plane Crazy's producer, Michael Rubinoff, at mrubinoff@mrubinoff.com. Michael will try to accommodate as many people as he can. 3. Find someone who already has a ticket, tie that person up with duct tape, assume their identity, and sneak into the show. Not recommended for people who are afraid of prison. Photo by Ben Strothmann Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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Brooke Shields to Play Roxie Hart!
 The name on everybody's lips is gonna be...Brooke! (I bet Tom Cruise couldn't do this...) According to this article in Playbill: Brooke Shields, who received glowing notices for her stint in the recent Broadway production of Wonderful Town, will step into another revival Sept. 9 when she joins the cast of Chicago. Shields will replace Charlotte d'Amboise as merry murderess Roxie Hart in the Tony-winning Kander and Ebb musical at the Ambassador Theatre. Shields previously played the role in the West End production at the Adelphi Theatre in April. On Broadway Brooke Shields has been seen in Wonderful Town, Grease! and Cabaret, and her Off-Broadway credits include The Vagina Monologues and The Exonerated. Shields' screen work includes "Pretty Baby," "Endless Love," "The Weekend," "The Bachelor" and "King of the Gypsies." She won an American Comedy Award for a guest appearance on "Friends," which led to her hit series "Suddenly Susan."
I remember how Brooke was always featured in those cheesy early '80s Bob Hope specials...what was it about Bob Hope and Brooke Shields? Now that I think back, that was so...WEIRD...but it just seemed like good fun at the time. Sigh. Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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Sutton Foster Confirmed for The Drowsy Chaperone
 According to this article in Playbill: Center Theatre Group (CTG) confirmed Sept. 9 that the Ahmanson Theatre's fall production of the Broadway-aimed musical The Drowsy Chaperone will star Tony Award winner Sutton Foster and Emmy Award nominee Georgia Engel. Their casting was previously reported by Playbill.com, as was the casting of Robert Martin, the show's co-author, who is expected to play the quirky musical theatre maven who narrates the show. The musical was an audience sensation in previous formative productions in Toronto. The second production of the Ahmanson's 2005-06 season at the Los Angeles Music Center, the new musical opens in its U.S. premiere Nov. 18 and continues through Dec. 24. Previews begin Nov. 10. Broadway producers Kevin McCollum, Roy Miller and Bob Boyett are in the wings, holding the commercial option on the show. Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw (Tony nominee for his choreography of Spamalot), with book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, music by Greg Morrison and lyrics by Lisa Lambert, The Drowsy Chaperone is "a love letter to the extravagant musicals of the 1920s offering the audience the chance to see one of those 'lost' musicals through the eyes of one super-fan with an almost omniscient knowledge of the play and players." Foster, a Tony winner for Best Actress in a Musical for Thoroughly Modern Millie, and nommed for Little Women, will play the bride, Janet, in the new show, a spoof of 1920s musicals and their practitioners. Engel, widely known as Georgette in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (for which she was Emmy-nominated) and as Pat MacDougall in "Everybody Loves Raymond," will play a wealthy dowager named Mrs. Tottendale (who apparently plays the ukulele). Co-author Martin is expected to play Man in Chair, the musical comedy maven and narrator who introduces us to the plot and backstage tales of his favorite (fictive) musical, 1928's The Drowsy Chaperone. The musical within the musical involves a wedding, one of the staple events of frivolous musical comedies of the 1920s and '30s. The title character is a middle-aged lady in the mold of Eve Arden -- "boozy, sexy, jaded" with a dead pan and wisecracking way about her. Think Eve Arden. Other characters in the show include a groom, gangsters, an aviatrix, a best man, a Latin lover, a chorine, a producer, a butler and more. Wild specialty turns from the characters will punctuate the show. The Ahmanson has billed the show as a "pre-Broadway engagement." Rehearsals begin in October. The Drowsy Chaperone was created by award-winning Second City authors and was the sleeper hit of the 1999 Toronto Fringe Theatre Festival. After selling out at the Fringe, the show quickly transferred to Theatre Passe Muraille (an Off-Broadway-style theatre in Toronto), again to critical and audience acclaim. In 2001, Mirvish Productions realized a full staging at Toronto's Winter Garden Theatre where it was lauded by critics. Here's how the Ahmanson Theatre bills the show: "This pre-Broadway musical is a deliciously silly and affectionate love letter to the great musicals of the gay 1920s -- a time when the champagne flowed, the caviar chilled and all the world was a guilty pleasure. This fabled 1928 Gable & Stein musical classic tells the tale of a pampered Broadway starlet who wants to give up show business to marry. Her producer sets out to sabotage the nuptials or it's curtains for him. Enter the chaperone, the debonair groom, a dizzy chorine, the Latin lover, and a couple of gangsters. Ruses are played. Hi-jinks occur, and the plot spins completely out of control!" Director-choreographer Casey Nicholaw was nominated for a 2005 Tony Award for Best Choreography for Monty Python's Spamalot. The show marked his Broadway debut as a choreographer. His New York credits include Sinatra: His Voice, His World, His Way featuring the Rockettes (Radio City Music Hall); Bye Bye Birdie (City Center Encores!); Can-Can (musical staging, City Center Encores!); and Candide (New York Philharmonic, PBS "Great Performances"). Regionally he's choreographed many original musicals including The Road to Hollywood (Goodspeed Musicals), Lucky Duck (Old Globe) and The Prince and the Pauper (5th Avenue Theatre, the Ordway). The musical had a starry presentation in the National Alliance for Musical Theatre's Festival of New Musicals in October 2004. Producers and money people have been circling ever since, and Ahmanson's artistic director Michael Ritchie snagged the show for the U.S. premiere.
GO drowsy! Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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Portfolio of Groovy Beautiful People
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One Show Available for Plane Crazy
 We are now SOLD OUT of our original six and two extended shows. But, our new NINTH performance date, Monday, September 19 at 1:00 pm still has availability. Click this link for a nice article on Plane Crazy and other sell-outs at this year's Festival. To get your tickets, click on this link to TheaterMania, and order online. Or, you can call Theatermania at (212) 352-3101 and ask for tickets to "Plane Crazy". Photo by Ben Strothmann Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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Plane Crazy's Richard Todd Adams Featured in Playbill's THE LEADING MEN
 Wow, Playbill has done a special feature on our leading man, Richard Todd Adams. It sounds like he was cute in "ass-less chaps", but wait 'til you see him in his Captain's uniform! According to this article in Playbill.com: MR. ADAMS' BUTT, MR. ADAMS... Richard Todd Adams is one Broadway caliber "Leading Man" who's not afraid to work his rear end off -- literally. In last month's Fringe musical The Day the World Went Queer!, the six-foot-two hunk from Galveston, TX, did something cheeky: He wore a leather harness and "ass-less chaps" that bared his behind, and to top it off, the rich and robust baritone belted "Nobody Wants a Daddy [Who's a Bottom]." But it was all for laughs in this madcap satire by Jonathan Matthew Gilbert, Lavell V. Blackwell and Joshua H. Cohen. Adams was a riot playing Grant, a strait-laced straight guy who "turned gay" when his town legalized same-sex marriage. He says, "I can't believe I was onstage with my ass hanging out, but it was fun and I love doing comedy." This month, Adams plays Brett Mansford, a jet-setting pilot and playboy in Plane Crazy, Suzy Conn's new musical comedy about stewardesses during the swinging sixties, "when stews were sexy and the world was sexist." It plays Sept. 15-25 at the New York Musical Theatre Festival and stars Allison Spratt, Hollie Howard and Jodie Langel. Adams says, "It focuses on Faith, who's a virgin from Toledo; Holly, an aspiring actress; and Janet, who jumps in bed with anyone. Brett falls for Janet, and she thinks he's a jerk, but he genuinely loves her. Jodie and I sing a great duet called 'Dancing on Air,' and I get a heartfelt and beautiful solo: 'I Will Take Care of You.'" Next, Adams, 31, will sing at "Kurt Weill: Hard Times and War," a concert sponsored by the Lotte Lenya Competition for Singers, on Oct. 20 at Lincoln Center. "The first year I entered, [opera legend] Teresa Stratas was one of the judges and gave me unbelievable feedback. So when I went to the finals, I had a swelled head and faked my way through it. I didn't win and afterward, Stratas grabbed me and cussed me out: 'You're too good to do that crap. You always have to sing from the heart.' She really opened my eyes. The next year I said, 'I'm gonna f****** win this thing' and I did." Adams has toured the U.S. and Canada in 2 Pianos 4 Hands, and for two years, played Raoul in both the Los Angeles and national touring companies of The Phantom of the Opera. "I learned more in those two years than my four years at Juilliard. I'd love to play the Phantom someday." However, as a sports fan who named his Lhasa apso Espen after the ESPN network, perhaps his most favorite role has been that of head coach for the Special Olympics: "An ex-girlfriend got me involved. It was a big challenge teaching basketball to people with learning disabilities. But if I had a horrible week, they always lifted me up. Even though the scoreboard was there, they'd ask: 'Did we win?' If we did, they'd embrace me and it was so rewarding." For more information, visit www.rtadams.com.
Photo by Ben Strothmann. Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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Plane Crazy and Points.com Announce Revolutionary Air Incentives Program
 Flying the Sexy Skies just got cheaper! According to this article on Broadwayworld.com, and from the official press release: PLANE CRAZY (planecrazythemusical.com), the new musical comedy set during the swinging '60s Jet Age, and Points International Ltd. announced today that PLANE CRAZY will be the first client for the new Points.com AirIncentives program. AirIncentives (airincentives.com) is a program that gives companies the ability to offer customers frequent flyer miles from six of America's most popular airlines. Participating airlines include Alaska, America West, Delta, Midwest, Northwest, and U.S Airways. With AirIncentives, PLANE CRAZY ticket holders will get a "mileage code" certificate when they walk into the theater. To redeem the mileage code, customers must access the AirIncentives Web site at airincentives.com, and then enter the code from their certificate into the site, along with the account number of their frequent flyer program of choice. Once that simple step is completed, the miles are immediately deposited into the customer's frequent flyer account. Suzy Conn, author of PLANE CRAZY, (hey, that's me!) says: "It's exciting to be able to integrate the theme of our musical, which features the glamour and sex appeal of '60s airline travel, with some of the leading airlines in the world. And I know that our audience is going to love getting the miles for attending the show: It's a perfect tie-in." "We're excited about launching AirIncentives with PLANE CRAZY," says Christopher Barnard, President of Points International Ltd, "In fact, to the best of our knowledge, no one has ever used frequent flyer miles as an incentive on Broadway before. We believe that this will open up a whole new channel in the arts for using the world's most popular and powerful incentive -- miles and points -- for rewarding loyal theater- and concert-goers."
So there's another reason to go and see Plane Crazy (like you really needed another one...) Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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Plane Crazy in Crain's New York Business
 Dear Diary, Whew -- what a day! I spent most of the day delivering our industry contact invites (a brilliantly designed boarding pass plus lots of Plane Crazy swag!) to office buildings around Manhattan. It's interesting to see the different levels of security in different buildings. Sometimes you just drop it off with the doorman, sometimes you sign in and whisk it up in the elevator yourself, sometimes you have to go into the bowels of the building to locate the mailroom and leave it there. Sometimes the mailroom is on another street altogether (and unmarked) so that you end up walking around the block more than once! More of the same tomorrow! As I was relaxing and catching up on my business news, reading Crain's New York Business, my eye went from a picture of Donald Trump to a headline "Plane musical gets off ground". What's this? An article on Plane Crazy in a non-theater publication -- that's so cool! The article goes on to say: Plane Crazy, an off-Broadway musical comedy about jet travel during the swinging 1960s is taking theater marketing to new heights. In a first for theater, the show has teamed up with a number of airlines to offer frequent flyer miles. Tickets for Plane Crazy, which runs at the Beckett Theatre on West 42nd Street from Sept 15 through Sept 25 as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival, can be redeemed for 100 points on airlines such as Delta and Northwest. To build buzz, the show is admitting air crew in uniform for free. We're getting requests from flight attendants from airlines around the world," says Michael Rubinoff, a Toronto-based lawyer and producer of the show. The marketing campaign isn't just targeting ticket buyers. Mr. Rubinoff is trying to raise money to eventually take Plane Crazy to Broadway. Shares can be bought on lthe Web for $1,000 each.
Then off to rehearsal where we finished blocking the last two scenes. Yeah! Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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Plane Crazy Extended...Again!
 A new performance of Plane Crazy has been added! We've already SOLD OUT six of the eight shows, and we have limited availability on the last two. Accordingly, NYMF has given us a NINTH show (in addition to the two that were already extended). The additional performance will be Monday September 19 at 1:00pm. Snap up your tickets NOW! To get your tickets, click on this link to TheaterMania, and order online. Or, you can call Theatermania at (212) 352-3101 and ask for tickets to "Plane Crazy". DATESThursday September 15 at 8:00 pm SOLD OUTSaturday September 17 at 4:30 pm and 8:00 pm SOLD OUTMonday September 19 at 1:00 pm ***NEW***AVAILABLEMonday September 19 at 4:30 pm SOLD OUTWednesday September 21 at 1:00 pm LIMITED AVAILABILITYFriday September 23 at 4:30 pm LIMITED AVAILABILITYSaturday September 24 at 4:30 pm SOLD OUTSunday September 25 at 1:00 pm SOLD OUT VENUEThe Beckett410 West 42nd StreetSouth side of West 42nd StreetBetween 9th & Dyer Avenues Wow...another performance...that's just...Plain Crazy! Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment
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Plane Crazy on Broadwayworld.com: 30 Days of NYMF on BroadwayWorld Day 3: PLANE CRAZY by Suzy Conn
 Hey, here's a nice piece on Plane Crazy on Broadwayworld.com, as part of their series leading up to the Festival. According to this article on Broadwayworld.com: My whole world changed on May 10, 2005, when I got the happy news that PLANE CRAZY had been accepted into the 2005 New York Musical Theatre Festival. I had been given the challenge of bringing to life, on a New York stage, the swinging '60s Jet Age, complete with randy pilots, hot stews, sleazy ad guys, and crusading feminists. PLANE CRAZY is a very personal piece of theater for me, because it explores the fundamental question of the choices that women face, set in my favorite time. The mid-sixties represented a time of clashing values. It was the fault line between the traditional and modern worlds, and as an artist I am attracted to the natural dramatic potential in that conflict. I will be forever in debt to my fabulous cast and creative team, my producers, my investors, and NYMF for helping me to get PLANE CRAZY off the ground!
Individual tickets for Plane Crazy are now on sale to the public! We're selling out quickly, so order yours now to avoid disappointment. If you can't get tickets online, we have some tickets in reserve at the door, available 30 minutes before showtime. To get your tickets, click on this link to TheaterMania, and order online. Or, you can call Theatermania at (212) 352-3101 and ask for tickets to "Plane Crazy". DATESThursday September 15 at 8:00 pm SOLD OUTSaturday September 17 at 4:30 pm and 8:00 pm SOLD OUTMonday September 19 at 4:30 pm SO | |