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Popular Broadway Songs [Youtbe Clips]

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Closing Notice

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After a valiant effort, Broadway's first a capella musical In Transit will close this coming Sunday. Fortunately, they have recorded their cast album and it will be released at the end of April.

In homage to this unique show, here is a glimpse backstage at the Circle in the Square theater. Unlike most shows actors are still working even when they are off stage. This company is the vocal backup band, and they sing through the whole show no matter where in the theater they happen to be.

 

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Movie - Easter Parade

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You can't celebrate Easter without Easter Parade, the 1948 American musical film starring Judy Garland, Fred Astaire and Peter Lawford, featuring music by Irving Berlin.

The film came at a difficult time in Judy's life. Liza had been born the previous year, but Judy was rushed into the Cole Porter musical The Pirate - a big budget disaster that strained her relationship with her director/husband, Vincent. She had a nervous breakdown during filming, but was able to complete the picture. But this led to her first suicide attempt followed by treatment at a sanitarium.

Easter Parade was supposed to reunite her with Gene Kelly, but Kelly broke his leg. MGM convinced Astaire to come out of retirement, and despite their age difference, Judy and Fred made a great team on screen.


"We're a Couple of Swells" is one of my favorite routines ever done for the screen. It is deceptively simple, but relies on the charm and comedy chops of the two stars.

Here is the amazing "Stepping Out with my Baby". Choreographed by Astaire's longtime collaborator Hermes Pan, the number combines slow motion and rear projection to achieve it's mixture of styles. This number was the inspiration for Michael Jackson's video of "Smooth Criminal" a half century later.


Judy seemed back to her old self filming Easter Parade. And the film was a huge hit - the biggest of both her and Astaire's careers. But looking back, it was the last trouble free film she would do for MGM. Although she would complete two more musicals for the studio in the late 1940's, she would be fired and replaced in three, which ultimately led to the end of that portion of her career.
 
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The Great Comet of 1812

Josh Groban and The Great Comet of 1812 on Good Morning America TV Show

Finally! They have been open since November, but for the first time the cast of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 have appeared on network TV in the US. Good Morning America brought them in to the studio, and it is immediately apparent why they have shied away from appearances. They had to rework the GMA set into a multi-level restaurant similar to what they had to do to the Imperial Theater.

Anyway, watch their live performance of a bit of 'Prologue' followed by Josh Groban's 'Pierre'.


UPDATE!

A few more tidbits - seems like Groban and the Comet are starting their Tony campaign.

.
 
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Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day opens tonight... Maybe?

The much-anticipated Groundhog Day finally opens officially after a month of previews.

Or... will it?? In a scenario that seems ripped out of hundreds of backstage musicals, star Andy Karl twisted his knee Friday night, and his understudy, Andrew Call (confusing names, I know) had to go on for Saturday's performance.

This gets to be a big deal for several reasons. First, Andy Karl just won the Olivier Award last week for originating this role in London. Andy is not a household name, but well known in New York theater. I saw him in Rocky: The Musical several years ago and he was amazing. (Funny - he did eight shows a week getting beaten to a pulp in Rocky, but it's playing leapfrog in Groundhog Day that knocks him out.)

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Andy Karl hanging out backstage.

Second, of course, all the reviews are based on what the critics see opening night or one of the final previews. Are the critics supposed to review the understudy?

Finally, Tony Award eligibility is based on who played the role on opening night. Andy has been seen as the only person who could really give Dear Evan Hansen's Ben Platt a run for that Leading Actor in a Musical statue.

I think that if there is any way for Andy to muster an opening night, he's going to go for it. Maybe they can write in a reason for Pittsburgh's finest weatherman to use a cane?

Check back here tomorrow morning for the word on what happened and the critics response.

UPDATE! Andy Karl Confirms he will perform tonight.

The bad news is that he has a torn ACL. That means he will have to take some time off. We'll see how they work that during Tony voting season. (I like the Groundhog logo with the bandages - nice touch!)

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Groundhog Day

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"Unlike far too many musicals regurgitated from hit movies, Groundhog Day is a delirious reinvention with its own defiantly unique personality, a relentless forward-backward spin that leaves you smiling, exhilarated and giddy, much like the Tilt-a-Whirl ride that briefly occupies the stage in the show's second act." - David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

Andy Karl took to the stage tonight, limping but game for leading his cast in Groundhog Day: The Musical. This is after his mishap during Friday night's show where he suffered a knee injury. So, what's the word? The consensus is that it is an inventive, entertaining show with a charming star-making turn by Karl.


"You would think that in any adaptation of the movie, the biggest shadow would be cast not by its weather-predicting title critter but by Mr. Murray. Yet while you’re in the presence of Mr. Karl, which, thankfully, is for most of the show, he unconditionally owns the role of Phil Connors." - Ben Brantley, New York Times

Yes, that was pretty much a rave from the New York Times. And you may be wondering how do they pull this off? Groundhog Day is this perfect movie that relies on fast clever editing and an iconic performance by Bill Murray. None of that is available on stage.

First, it's written by original Academy Award winning co-screenwriter Danny Rubin, so you don't have any outsiders messing with the story. The music is by Matilda's Tim Minchin - the king of quirky rhythm and rhymes. There's Andy Karl, a "musical comedy dreamboat", according to Joe Dziemianowicz of the Daily News. And substituting for the fast paced editing, you have Rob Howell and Paul Kieve's fun house set of electro-mechanical illusions.

The audience’s first taste of this comes early on as Phil, Rita, and their cameraman head to Punxsutawney in their Channel Five van and a small, tricycle-size remote controlled vehicle appears on stage trundling along like a runaway kid’s toy. At first, it’s laughable, then it becomes insanely clever — like a bunch of teenage merry prankster theater geeks... putting on a high school show. Later, they up the ante on that illusion with a three-dimensional car chase that has to be seen to be believed. It’s like Avenue Q meets The Fast and the Furious - Chris Nashawty, Entertainment Weekly

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Not everyone was charmed. Some reviewers were as peeved by the relentless repetition as the show's lead character.

It would be nice to report that, despite these travails, the show, with a book by Danny Rubin, who co-wrote the 1993 movie, and a score by Tim Minchin, of “Matilda” renown, deserves the plaudits it has already received in London, including an Olivier Award for best musical and another for Karl as leading actor. But I’m afraid the production, simultaneously frenetic and static, left me just about as glum as its protagonist is at curtain rise. Life would be grim indeed if I had to wake up and face this tedious, charm-free and often tasteless show again day after day. - Christopher Isherwood, Broadway News

To be fair, Isherwood doesn't like the movie, either.

It looks like they have a solid show. That would be money in the bank except there are a lot of solid shows already running that people want to see. And by the end of the week two more musicals will open - that other London hit Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and what may be the 600 pound gorilla of the season, Bette Midler in Hello Dolly!. This is a hard time to sell a show with a handicapped star.

But if anyone can do it, it's Andy Karl. I saw him go 15 rounds with Apollo Creed, so I know he has it in him.


For more information

 

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Broadway Boys

Billy Porter

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You might know Billy Porter from his Tony winning role in Kinky Boots. Billy has just released a new album of Richard Rodgers songs. The material has been given a contemporary spin and is performed by Billy and his friends. And, what friends!

  • Cynthia Erivo (The Color Purple)
  • Renée Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton)
  • Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton)
  • Patina Miller (Pippin)
  • Pentatonix
  • India.Arie
  • Brandon Victor Dixon (Shuffle Along)
  • Joshua Henry (Violet, Hamilton)
  • Christopher Jackson (Hamilton)
  • Todrick Hall (Kinky Boots)
  • Deborah Cox
  • Ledisi


Here is Pentatonix backing Billy on "Oh What a Beautiful Morning":


Here is the complete track and artist listing (with some links to the songs, if I could find them):

  1. ”Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” (Pentatonix & Billy Porter)
  2. ”My Romance” (Leslie Odom Jr.)
  3. ”If I Loved You” (Renée Elise Goldsberry & Christopher Jackson)
  4. ”With a Song in My Heart” (Brandon Victor Dixon & Joshua Henry)
  5. ”I Have Dreamed” (Patina Miller)
  6. ”My Funny Valentine” (Cynthia Erivo)
  7. ”I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair” (Todrick Hall & Billy Porter)
  8. ”This Nearly was Mine” (Deborah Cox)
  9. ”Bewitched” (Ledisi featuring Zaire Park)
  10. ”Carefully Taught” (India.Arie & Billy Porter)
  11. ”Lady is a Tramp” (Billy Porter featuring Zaire Park)
  12. ”Edelweiss” (Billy Porter)

You gotta hear Billy and Todrick Hall dish about "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair" - who hasn't felt like that at one time or another?

Also, listen to Billy Porter Talks New Richard Rodgers Album on Billboard on Broadway Podcast: 'We Wanted to Create a New Conversation'
 
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Hello, Dolly!

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The new revival of Jerry Herman's 1964 "Hello, Dolly!" starring Bette Midler is so surpassingly beautiful, propelled by such glorious razzle-dazzle, and crafted with such joy and intelligence that it deserves to be studied, emulated and above all celebrated. Not since the 2008 revival of "South Pacific" has a classic been brought back to life with as perfect a mixture of fidelity and freshness. This is what Broadway is all about. - Christopher Kelly, NJ.com

It was three years ago that rumors began circulating that Broadway/Hollywood uber-producer Scott Rudin was trying to convince Bette Midler to come back to Broadway in Hello, Dolly!. Yes. YES. YES!! Last year, they signed the deal and more than a year later Bette is gliding down the stairs in that red dress and mingling with her people as she leads the dancers on the ramp out through the orchestra seats.

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The show is built around the emotional showstopper of a title song - all the more poignant since it is Midler's first time back on Broadway in an book musical since she played the eldest daughter in Fiddler on the Roof for three years in the late 1960's.

This has been the hottest ticket in town since previews started last month. The word of mouth has been great. But what did the critics say? Almost all of them fell at the feet of La Bette.

"But the real source of the warmth and color is Midler herself, and the crowd's feelings for her, which together create a feedback loop so tight that the distinction between star and audience is all but obliterated...she performs in a style so broad and unironic despite its myriad references that it seems nearly naked. It's not even a style, really: just a here-I-am, as-I-am honesty (however contrived) that in disguising its own achievement not only breaks down the fourth wall but makes you forget why there ever was one. In Dolly she never looks as right as when she's out on the famous passerelle, promenading among her people, reaching out to them with delight if never quite pressing flesh." - Jesse Green, Vulture


If you've ever seen Midler on stage, you know the love affair she has with the audience. Much like Pearl Bailey did a half a century ago, it sounds like Bette has merged her stage persona with the character to make her relationship with the audience as important as the rapport with the other characters on stage.

They are pretty much all like that. Except for the Wall Street Journal that thought the Midler's voice was shot and the production a bore. Just to keep it real, I guess.

Now this is far from a one-woman show. You need a great Dolly to succeed, but long stretches of the play involve Dolly's target, Horace, and the two young couples.

The much greater revelation of this revival, which opened Thursday at the Shubert Theatre, is the offbeat casting of nearly everyone around her, starting with David Hyde Pierce as Dolly Levi’s unwilling suitor.

Horace Vandergelder hails from Yonkers, but Hyde Pierce gives him an Old West flair. You can almost hear the saloon doors flapping whenever he enters or exits the stage. Who knew Hyde Pierce had a “Sly Fox” in him?

The greatest challenge of staging “Hello, Dolly!” is what to do with the dreadful subplot of Horace’s two assistants, Cornelius Hackl (Gavin Creel) and Barnaby Tucker (Taylor Trensch), who take off for New York City to woo a shop owner, Irene Molly (Kate Baldwin), and her assistant, Minnie Fay (Beanie Feldstein).

The 1969 movie version of “Dolly” offers an insipid quartet. Zaks radically tweaks all four characters. Creel and Tucker are a discombobulated Mutt and Jeff, Baldwin is a truly tough cookie, and Feldstein is a Rubenesque Kewpie doll. She looks and behaves precisely like someone named Beanie Feldstein should.

None of these four characters is given a decent line to recite, which might be the reason the musical’s source material, Thornton Wilder’s “The Matchmaker,” is rarely revived. But with such inventive supporting players on stage, the wait for Bette to return never turns into a trial."
- Robert Hoffler, The Wrap

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Taylor Trensch, Bette Midler, and Gavin Creel take up the advice to "Put On Your Sunday Clothes". It's this kind of supporting cast that gold plate this revival. Gavin Creel (Thoroughly Modern Mille, Hair, She Loves Me) and co-star David Hyde Pierce (Spamalot, Curtains, and A Life earlier this season) have each headlined past Broadway shows.

A new Broadway cast album has been recorded and will be released late in May.

Earlier in the week I called Dolly! the 600 pound gorilla of the season and these reviews set that in stone. That leads us to a similar question as last year when Hamilton dominated everything: Does a rising tide indeed lift all boats? Or does it suck all the oxygen out of the box office and starve smaller shows?

The Dolly! effect is most likely to be felt by the revivals - Sunset Boulevard, Miss Saigon, and Cats. Tourists and businesses will fall over themselves for unattainable tickets to a showy feel-good hit. The new more adventurous musicals like Dear Evan Hansen, The Great Comet and Come From Away are being sustained by a different set of fans. The more conventional new musicals like Groundhog Day and Anastasia may struggle a bit.

But the bottom line is that it is a superlative season. When the low point is Amelie (which isn't at all bad, just not adding up to that much) you are doing pretty well.

There are seven days left in the season, and still to open are Willy Wonka, Bandstand, and the aforementioned Anastasia.
 
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Broadway Babes

Happy Birthday, Patti LaPone!

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She was Andrew Lloyd Webber's original Norma Desmond, Les Miserables's first Fantine and Broadway's first Eva Peron. She breathed new life into revivals of Sweeney Todd, Anything Goes, Oliver! and Gypsy.

Right now she doing eight shows a week at the Nederlander Theater in War Paint.


A Little Priest - Sondheim 80th Birthday - Patti does the first act closer from Sweeney Todd with both of her former Sweeneys: George Hearn and Michael Cerveris.

For more information

 
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Online

Lin-Manuel Miranda and Andrew Lloyd Webber Will Chat Live

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UPDATE 24 April 2017 - You can see a recording of their conversation here. The video starts about 8 minutes in, so fast forward to that point.

How would you like to sit in on a chat between Andrew Lloyd Webber and Lin-Manuel Miranda? This Sunday, April 23, ALM and LMM will broadcast their discussion live on Facebook at 2PM GMT (9AM EST).

This is being sponsored by The Other Palace theater in London (see below). Check out their Facebook page for details.

For more information

The Other Palace is a complex of two theaters recently built with the mission to develop new musicals and plays. It was built by The Really Useful Theater Group on the site of the old Westminster Theater that caught fire in 2002 and had to be demolished. It's the first new theater built in London's West End in a generation. Paul Taylor Mills is the artistic director and he will facilitate the discussion on Sunday.
 
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Yentl

Happy Birthday, Barbra Streisand!

Today is a good day to remember the film Barbra Streisand poured more of her soul into than propbably anything else: Yentl.

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This film was under more scrutiny than any film she had done since Funny Girl. She put everything on the line, and at the time it seemed that there was a large portion of Hollywood that was ready to punish her for the hubris of writing, directing, producing and starring in a huge vanity production.


In her 1994 concert Barbra sings the underscoring to the film and even duets with herself on the big finale.

Streisand also had the misfortune of trying to get her film off the ground in the wake of the disaster of Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate at United Artists. As she tried to move forward in pre-production the studio was buckling under the public recrimination of having given an indulgent artist (Cimino) a huge blank check. Barbra's musical was being seen in the same light and the studio pulled out, which sent Barbra begging to other studios to keep the picture alive. She finally found a taker at newly reformed MGM, but the price was a budget cut - which for a musical is difficult to bear.

Still, she made her movie, and what do you know - it turned out to be this queer fable with something for everyone LGBT.
  • The gays identified with falling for the straight boy and the complex debate about whether to reveal the crush.
  • The lesbians had two women getting married and breaking gender stereotypes.
  • The bisexuals had Mandy Patinkin falling for both a woman and (what he thinks is) a man.
  • And the trans folk have someone pretending to be a gender she is not.


"The Way He Makes Me Feel" - Yentl feels pretty much the same way I would if I ran in to a naked Mandy Patinkin in the woods when I was 15.

Yentl in the end is an extremely well made small musical - the polar opposite of those big 1960s monstrosities like Hello, Dolly! or On A Clear Day You Can See Forever that Streisand was trapped in. It's scale is exactly right and showed how good and generous Streisand could be with her actors.

For more information

The Revelation and Kiss Scene - This is kind of the climax of the film, so if you haven't seen it be warned that it is a spoiler. But here when the stakes are highest you can admire the deftness of Streisand as both director and actress, for she is at the top of her game in both roles.
 
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

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"For a musical about the wonder of pure imagination, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is bizarrely lacking in it. The show does have Christian Borle as Willy Wonka, the mysterious chocolate-making genius created by Roald Dahl in 1964.... Alas, especially in the long and slow first act, it's almost painful to watch Borle, a master of endearing virtuosity, work so hard to sell charm that simply isn't in the script, the music and too much of the staging." - Linda Winer, Newsday


Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ran for three years in London even though it opened with mixed reviews. Rather than transfer the London production Warner Brothers completely redid it - starting at the top with director Jack O'Brien and star Christian Borle (Something's Rotten, Smash, Falsettos). They also altered script, redesigned the set, completely recast the actors, and hired a new choreographer. Last night it opened and most New York critics acted as if they had bit into an extremely sour jawbreaker.

"O'Brien rebuilt the New York version as a simpler affair, hoping the audience would use its imagination to fill in the blanks; the result is an unusually dull set design by Mark Thompson and effects that would hardly have seemed special twenty years ago. When Wonka, who has spent much of the first act in disguise as a candy store owner in order to give Borle something to do, reveals himself as the grand wizard of chocolate, the transformation scene involves a crowd gathering around him while he takes off his overcoat. At least the Oompa-Loompas are fun - the first one or two times we meet them. Even so, I doubt this musical would have proved at all likable even if an apt style and thrilling visuals had been found for it. The story is too maudlin and, at the same time, too angry." - Jesse Green, Vulture

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Ben Brantley at the New York Times liked it more or less - it was a huge improvement over the London production which he hated. But his was the most positive of the reviews I have seen. Most reviewers didn't like it - though the disagreed on what was wrong. Various opinions stated that:

  • The set was too minimal.
  • The set was too fancy.
  • The story treated the children cruelly.
  • The story really let the obnoxious kids have it.
  • Charlie was too sweet.
  • Charlie was a sell-out.

There were a few points on which most agreed.

  • The first act sucks, and the second act is rushed. The first act ends with the arrival of Willy Wonka and the kids finally entering his Chocolate Factory. This makes the first act both crammed with exposition and rather dull (it's called Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! So, where's the factory?) It also crams all the Factory adventure, bratty kid comeuppances, and Oompa Loompas into the second act.
  • Christian Borle is better than Johnny Depp, but not as beloved as Gene Wilder. Most liked Borle the performer, but felt the character was either too mean to didn't have enough bite. (Try threading that needle.)
  • Ryan Foust, who played Charlie on opening night, was the best thing in the show. (There are three child actors that play Charlie. The "bad" kids are all played by young adults - probably so we won't be so squeamish when they are mutilated and dismembered in the second act).
  • The Oompa Loompas are great. They are done as a combination of actor and puppets and inventively choreographed by Joshua Bergasse.
  • Kids seem to enjoy the show more than adults. (You can get by with that in a movie, but in a Broadway show which costs a family of four many hundreds of dollars, I don't think that is going to fly.)

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Ryan Foust as Charlie Bucket not only got a Golden Ticket - he got a rave from The Times!

Charlie is selling really well, though the word of mouth I have heard has been mixed. That should keep it safely running through the summer - but we will have to see if these reviews temper how it is received. Again, the competition is fierce this year. Parents can always take their kids to see Cats.

Or Anastasia, which opens tonight.
 

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Anastasia

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'If you are particular about Russian political and cultural history, you might want to be gripping a stress ball before taking your seat at the musical Anastasia on Broadway. If you want to watch a proudly old-school Broadway musical with the best snow effects ever (thank you, projection designer Aaron Rhyne), however, then no stress balls needed. Despite a closing curtain of narrative ambiguity, this lushly orchestrated, gently delightful musical, directed by Darko Tresnjak, takes the view that the famous daughter of the Romanovs did survive the massacre of the Russian imperial family at the hands of the Bolsheviks in 1918, and-having fallen in with a loveable conman and louche aristocrat-sets off for Paris to prove her identity to her surviving grandmother." Tim Teeman, The Daily Beast

I'm afraid I'm one of those stress ball toting Russian history nerds that knows just a little too much of the gruesome final chapter of Romanov family to engage with Anastasia as anything but a fairy tale. But, apparently the animated film has fans ("fanastaisas") and they seem to be showing up in droves, so maybe this is going to be the teen girl equivalent of Newsies. (Or would that just be Wicked?)

"Young women and girls in search of a new Broadway role model need look no further than the title character in "Anastasia," the sumptuous fairy tale of a musical that should please the kids, satisfy the sentimental and comfort those who thought the old templates for musical comedy were passé." - Frank Rizzo, Variety


The reviews are positive / mixed. It's a beautiful take on the story with sumptuous sets and costumes.

"Alexander Dodge's luscious backdrops of St. Petersburg and Paris aided by Donald Holder's lighting are more seductive than the best travel poster. Aaron Rhyne's deliciously dizzying projection designs whoosh us through the countryside as they take the train to Paris and then up the elevator inside the Eiffel Tower. Linda Cho's costumes convince us that royalty really do live superior lives. Peggy Hickey's choreography is most noticeable during a sizeable sequence." - Jonathan Mandell, DC Theatre Scene

Leading lady Christy Altomare got glowing reviews - even critics that weren't sold on the property are eager to see more her in the future.

"Altomare, whose singular previous Broadway credit was as the bride-to-be in "Mamna Mia!," is a revelation here. She gives Anya an instant likeability and spunk, and soars at the book's more emotionally vulnerable moments. Her voice — specifically in the showstopping "Journey to the Past," which closes the first act — is the sort of pure, perfect soprano that pierces the heart and warms the soul. ." - Dave Quinn, NBC New York

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What we have here is a well-crafted musical with top-rate talent that is trying to balance between Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella and Doctor Zhivago. It's not for me, but I have learned never to underestimate the power of teenage girls to create a hit. Again, Wicked.

"The key selling point of this pretty but anodyne musical, which ends up being more satisfying than the sum of its parts. It's a fairy-tale whose princess chooses her own kind of prince, a destiny foretold in the stirring shared childhood recollection of Dmitry and Anya, "In a Crowd of Thousands." It's kitschy, old-fashioned entertainment given a relatively sophisticated presentation, and you have to acknowledge its success when you hear the target demographic swoon on cue."- David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
 

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Bandstand

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"The resonant original musical Bandstand dances a delicate line between nostalgia and disillusion. What it seems to promise, and often delivers, is Broadway escapism: a tale of soldiers returning from World War II into a lively world of big-band music, boogie-woogie dancing and a booming American economy. Donny (the very engaging Corey Cott) assembles a music combo composed entirely of fellow veterans, hoping to win a competition in New York and earn a shot at Hollywood. Sounds like a happy old movie, right? But these soldiers, we soon learn, have trouble getting into the swing of things. Try though they may-through work, repression, copious drinking-they can't shake off the horror of war." - Matt Feldman, Time Out New York

It's the last musical of the 2016-2017 season!

You might think that a musical called Bandstand and starring Corey Cott (Newsies) and Laura Osnes (Cinderella) would be a feel-good big band nostalgia fest. And you would be partly right. The jazz band sound is there, but the focus of the play is the difficulty of transitioning from war to peace - something we don't usually associate with the Greatest Generation returning from "The Good War".

Set in the smoke filled, swing night clubs of 1945, the show brings the against-all-odds story of a singer/songwriter and his band of mismatched fellow WWII veterans, each hurting in his own way. Corey Cott must whip his wise-cracking gang of jazzers into fighting shape while teaming up with the young war widow of his deceased best friend (Osnes) as their singer.


The reaction? Very good to mixed. Some loved the show, like Matt Feldman of Time Out (above). The New York Times admired it, but pointed out its discrepancy:

"What is “Bandstand” truly about? Wartime musicals are a tricky business. From “On the Town” to “South Pacific” to “The Sound of Music,” they all have to balance martial reality with theatrical flair. Here, the push is toward “let’s put on a show” jollity, shadowed by a more somber impulse to examine what it means to come home half-broken. This gloomier inclination is more compelling; there’s a wrenching number toward the end of the first act when Mr. Blankenbuehler uses dance, in “Right This Way,” to suggest the psychological burdens these men carry.

... It’s respectful of veterans, but not of itself, ultimately quitting on its own ambitions — a theatrical case of soldier’s heart. The script never fleshes out the members of the backing band, and in the second act — with the exception of a defiant, devastating and somewhat unlikely 11 o’clock number (“Welcome Home”) — the show trades real and probably unresolvable conflict for familiar clashes between love and fear, art and business. Romance, record sales and a savvy contracts lawyer can fix trauma? Someone tell the V.A."
- Alexis Soloski, The New York Times

Here we have a show that may be something of a victim of its marketing campaign - or maybe the difficulty in crafting one. From the posters and music previews you would think this was something like the Richard Sherman musical Over There! with big band tunes and Lindy Hop dancers. But it aspires to be something more. (Or, as one snarky reviewer called it, PTSD: The Musical.) That makes it something of a bait and switch if you were expecting bobbysoxers-on-parade.

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"Less well known, Corey Cott finds every dimension of heartsick, furious, talented Donny. He sings, dances and works the upright piano constantly being pushed around David Korins’s music hall of a set. Donny is a broken man striving to pretend he isn’t tormented only to have to admit he is. Cott, who’s awfully good-looking into the bargain, hits those character notes with the facility he hits the ebony and ivory ones." - David Finkle, The Huffington Post

But there were aspects that everyone agreed on, beginning with leading man, Corey Cott. Just to review Corey's past, Disney played fairy godmother to Cott when they tapped him to replace Jeremy Jordan as the lead in Newsies just as Corey was graduating from college. Corey led the cast for a year, then was cast in Gigi where he was well reviewed, though the show didn't last long. Now he is starring in his third(!) Broadway show, and getting mostly star-making reviews.

Likewise, Corey's co-star, Laura Osnes continues to be a critics darling after stints in Grease, Bonnie & Clyde, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, and several cheeky Princess Party revues at the 54 Below nightclub.

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"Laura Osnes, who’s made herself a current musical leading lady, was last on Broadway as Cinderella. This outing can be seen as her galloping to the other end of the spectrum where she gives the performance of her career so far. The voice is pure as mountain water, but that’s always been true. The purity of her acting as a bereaved woman whose opportunities have been torn from her is what lifts her into a new performing stratum." - David Finkle, The Huffington Post

Some felt the score was bland, while others praised Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor for making the jazz numbers work as character songs.

"It would have been easy to simply plug in 1940s pop standards. But instead Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor created a swinging original score that not only captures the period style but also digs deep into the characters. The music is so tightly integrated into the script that "Bandstand" becomes unusually powerful musical theater. Its reinterpretation of the traditional 11 o'clock number is both smart and electrifying." - Matt Windman, amNY

Also singled out for praise was director/choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler. Andy won a Tony award last year for his choreography in Hamilton, but he also directed Lin-Manuel Miranda's previous show, Bring It On: The Musical. The show moves constantly and the jitterbug routines wowed everyone. In a season that has not produced much of interest in the way of dance, Andy may be on his way to his second Tony.

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Andrea Dotto, left, and Ryan Kasprzak cut a rug doing Blakenbueler's choreo in Bandstand.

Final note - opening night is always especially exciting for performers making their Broadway debut. Last night was the debut of a chorus member who's career I have followed for the last ten years - Ryan Kasprzak. Ryan is no chorus twink fresh out of college - he is a fortysomething dancer and choreographer who has been paying his dues in tours and regional theater for years, and finally last night saw a dream come true. His younger brother Evan beat him to Broadway by about five years (in Newsies), but I'm sure Evan was there cheering him on Wednesday night.

Here is a piece Ryan starred in for the Gypsy of the Year benefit several years ago.

In a profession that considers you over-the-hill at 30, Ryan certainly exemplifies the show's message of perseverance through all obstacles to claim a dream.
 
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Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day on The Today Show

All this week the NBC Today Show in the US is spotlighting Broadway shows. Here is a performance from the cast of Groundhog Day (with special guest Al Roker and Andy Karl performing in his leg brace).

 

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Dear Evan Hansen

Dear Evan Hansen on the Today Show

Yes, everyone's Tony Awards campaign is now in high gear. The cast of Dear Evan Hansen perform the inspirational "You Will Be Found" on the NBC Today Show. Also, Ben Platt talks about being named as one of Time Magazine's most influential people as "Broadway's Boy Wonder".


UPDATE April 28 2017 - The Tony Awards just released a small clip of this same number from the show so you can see what it looks like on stage. It's very different with all the projections that show Evan going viral at this point in the song.
 
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Darling Lili

Whew! We made it to the end of the Broadway season (except for the awards). But with so much new stuff I am just going to take a minute to look back and pull out my favorite Julie Andrews moment - the opening song to the 1970 film Darling Lili: "Whistling Away the Dark".

The tune is by Henry Mancini and directed by her husband Blake Edwards. Note that Edwards does the whole song in one take as a continuous shot with the camera dancing around Julie. It is beautiful work on everyone's part. Too bad the rest of the movie was a snooze.

 
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Amelie

Amelie on the Today Show​

Phillipa Soo brought the cast of Amelie to the plaza at Rockefeller Center with a medley of tunes. She is wonderful in that role. They announced last week that they are recording a cast album which should be available in the summer.


The Tony Awards released a short clip of Amelie in the theater.
 
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Your Weekend Musical

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Nothing to do this evening? See a Broadway show! Here is the Tony award winning 2015 revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I (yes, this is a bootleg of the whole show) with Kelli O'Hara (South Pacific, Bridges of Madison County) and Ken Watanabe.

Update 3 May 2017 - Links are down.

This revival was directed by Bartlett Sher (South Pacific, Fiddler on the Roof), choreographed by Christopher Gattelli (Newsies).

From the New York Times review:

If Mr. Sher’s The King and I isn’t quite the revelation that his South Pacific was, it’s because he’s mining material that has fewer secrets to yield. Tamper too much with the basic appeal of this show — captured in a startlingly self-aware lyric (in the song “Western People Funny”) that describes the British as feeling “so sentimental about the Oriental” — and it capsizes.

Mr. Sher neither apologizes for nor condemns such sentimentality. Instead, he sheds a light that isn’t harsh or misty but clarifying. He understands very well what makes the show work, and he delivers it clean-scrubbed and naked, allowing us to see “The King and I” plain.

By naked, I don’t mean minimal. More than any of the great golden-age musicals, for which Rodgers and Hammerstein forged the template with “Oklahoma!,” “The King and I” revels in spectacle. But its most impressive achievement is how it balances epic sweep with intimate sensibility.

Besides, what makes “The King and I” a five-handkerchief masterpiece isn’t its quaint portrait of mores at odds, but its portrayal of the varied forms and content of love, an abiding theme of Rodgers and Hammerstein. This score, given the full velvet touch by a sublime orchestra, contains some of their lushest ballads.

They acquire freshening nuance and anchoring conviction here. That Ms. O’Hara, one of our greatest reinterpreters of musical standards, does so is not surprising. (You’ll feel you’re hearing “Hello, Young Lovers” for the first time.) But also give full marks to the first-rate Ruthie Ann Miles (the original Imelda Marcos in “Here Lies Love”) who, as the King’s chief wife, turns “Something Wonderful” into an exquisite expression of romantic realism that could be the show’s anthem.

The person she’s singing about with such fond ambivalence (“This is a man who thinks with his heart/His heart is not always wise”) is the King himself, embodied here by Mr. Watanabe with the convincing exasperation of a majesty under siege. His diction is not always coherent, which makes him more of an underdog than usual in his standoffs with Anna. And his big solos, while attacked with ardor, should become even stronger as his pronunciation improves.

But he sure comes across when it really counts. “Shall We Dance?,” the number in which Anna teaches the King to trip the light, begins as a whimsical comic exercise. Then at a certain point, Mr. Watanabe’s eyes narrow, his voice deepens and he firmly clasps his co-star’s waist. Sex has entered the building.
 
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Twas the day before the Tony Award Nominations, and all had the day off...

Tony noms come out tomorrow. For some shows it's a question of how many will they get (Dolly, Evan Hansen, Comet, Groundhog Day). For shows that opened early in the season, it's wondering if they will be forgotten (Falsettos, Cats, Holiday Inn). Others are desperate for a shot in the arm that will get them some attention in this crowded season (Bandstand, War Paint, Amelie, Anastasia).

One show you won't see mentioned is Sunday in the Park with Jake Gyllenhaal. They opted out of the Tonys since their run was limited (they closed last week).

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Some Broadway actors spent their day off at the Met Gala mixing with the fashionistas. From right to left, Andy Karl (Groundhog Day) and his wife Orfeh, Josh Groban (The Great Comet), and Laura Osnes (Bandstand).



Till then we have some more performances from the Today Show.



Josh Groban leads the cast of The Great Comet of 1812 do a live performance of 'Balaga' and 'The Abduction'.



Anastasia star Christy Altomare Performs 'Journey to the Past'
 
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Tony Awards

Have you been following along here all season? Then you will find few surprises below. (A couple - but not many.)

Here are the nominations for the major musical categories. More thoughts about this later, but you can peruse the list and come to your own conclusions.

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2017 Tony Award Nominations

Best Musical
  • Come From Away
  • Dear Evan Hansen
  • Groundhog Day The Musical
  • Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
  • Come From Away, Music & Lyrics: Irene Sankoff and David Hein
  • Dear Evan Hansen, Music & Lyrics: Benj Pasek & Justin Paul
  • Groundhog Day The Musical, Music & Lyrics: Tim Minchin
  • Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, Music & Lyrics: Dave Malloy

Best Revival of a Musical
  • Falsettos
  • Hello, Dolly!
  • Miss Saigon

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
  • Christian Borle, Falsettos
  • Josh Groban, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
  • Andy Karl, Groundhog Day The Musical
  • David Hyde Pierce, Hello, Dolly!
  • Ben Platt, Dear Evan Hansen


Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
  • Denée Benton, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
  • Christine Ebersole, War Paint
  • Patti LuPone, War Paint
  • Bette Midler, Hello, Dolly!
  • Eva Noblezada, Miss Saigon


Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
  • Gavin Creel, Hello, Dolly!
  • Mike Faist, Dear Evan Hansen
  • Andrew Rannells, Falsettos
  • Lucas Steele, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
  • Brandon Uranowitz, Falsettos


Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
  • Kate Baldwin, Hello, Dolly!
  • Stephanie J. Block, Falsettos
  • Jenn Colella, Come From Away
  • Rachel Bay Jones, Dear Evan Hansen
  • Mary Beth Peil, Anastasia


Summaries

Musicals with 5 or more Nominations
  • Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (12)
  • Hello, Dolly! (10)
  • Dear Evan Hansen (9)
  • Come From Away (7)
  • Groundhog Day (7)
  • Falsettos (5) (Closed)

Musicals with No Nominations
  • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
  • A Bronx Tale
  • Amelie
  • In Transit (Closed)
  • Cats
  • Sunset Boulevard


Other Thoughts

As I write this the companies of the Come From Away, Dear Evan Hansen, The Great Comet, Groundhog Day, and Hello Dolly! are probably gathering early at their theaters to share a meal and celebrate the many nominations they have earned.

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Andy Karl and the cast of Groundhog Day celebrate seven nominations with seven cakes in front of their theater.

Everywhere else, however, the evening will be more muted. Congrats are certainly in order for Patti LaPone and Christine Ebersole of War Paint for their expected nods. Miss Saigon got the needed Best Revival nomination and an acting recognition. But for others the good news is scarce and limited to the creative staff (choreography for Bandstand, costumes for Anastasia).

And the mood over at Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? I pity star Christian Borle who will walk in to work tonight to get congratulations from the cast and crew for his best actor nomination... for Falsettos last fall. But poor Charlie got nothing. Neither did A Bronx Tale, Cats, Sunset, or Amelie.

Some years the wealth is spread around. Not this year. For the first time in recent memory, the same four original musicals took Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Score. Those same shows, plus the revival nominees filled out most of the acting and technical awards as well. There was very little left over for the second tier shows who were craving some recognition to break through the crowd.

There were a couple of surprises. A pleasant one was that not only did the Falsettos revival get a nomination, but all four leads were nominated as well. A shocking surprise was Mike Faist's Featured Actor nomination. (Mike plays Connor, Evan Hansen's nemesis/imaginary best friend.) Never count out a former Newsie, I guess.

If you are a fan of the non-nominated shows, don't worry. You will likely see some of them on the Tony Show on June 11 anyway.

But will they still be running? Amelie is in possible danger.; maybe Bandstand. Depending on how expensive they are to run and how well funded the producers are, those shows may need to make a decision about whether they can gain any traction this season. Sunset Boulevard is a limited run anyway and will close mid-June. Charlie, Bronx Tale, and Anastasia have strong enough sales to head in to the summer, at least. And Cats isn't going anywhere.


For more information

 
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