THEATRE GOSSIP #286 - Will Petty LuPone Make It To The Grammys Edition

Ms. LuPone is scheduled to sing a salute to Andrew Loyd Webber. But will her new hip get her there?

And Ms. LuPone is mighty pissed off that other actresses are taking her roles.

Laura Linney in Gypsy.

Imelda Staunton in Gypsy

And Meghan Markle is Evita - Great Britian's instant queen, an overnight saint and only a few seemed to notice she simply seduced a country.

saw her in previews for evita long ago.

never woulda guessed she would go so far....

gal has lungs tho: fo sho.

spunky!

She’s recovering just fine. Her hip won’t be an issue.

Finally got around to see Bette In Dolly and she doesn't disappoint. Can't see Bernadette being that physically funny. She got roars. During the curtain call she high fives the first row who probably all paid $800 a pop.

not my video

I’d love to hear Patti’s salute to ALW. How many f-words?

I'd forgotten how fucking HAMMY Mandy Patinkin was in that commercial for "Evita," which seemed to run for years...

"Not much to ASK FOR!"

[quote]During the curtain call she high fives the first row who probably all paid $800 a pop.

Pearlie Mae did that on her entrance. Completely dropped character at her entrance on the carriage or whatever and walked down around the passerelle shaking the hands of all the screaming queens handing her flowers from the first row.

Very low rent. Show went downhill from there.

[quote] I'd forgotten how fucking HAMMY Mandy Patinkin was in that commercial for "Evita," which seemed to run for years...

I love the woman that gets right up behind him. Why is she so close? Is she going to goose him?

[quote]Ms. LuPone is mighty pissed off that other actresses are taking her roles.

Her roles? HER fucking roles?!?!

[quote] Her roles? HER fucking roles?!?! —Ethel Merman & Elaine Paige

Doll, Merman's dead and Elaine Paige was too short to play Evita. Nobody could see her over the railing of the Casa Rosada.

Oh, and it's not Ms. Elaine Paige that is being asked to sing "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" on the Grammy Awards.

Oh, and did you know that the jewelry I wore in Evita was worn by Merman in "Call Me Madam"? I stole it when the show closed.

And now with Andrea Martin...

Patti dear, and did YOU know after you fell on your ass at the LA opening night, I went to Equity and begged them to let me fire you and bring in Elaine? That would be Elaine PAIGE, who dances as well as she sings and never once fell on her ass in “Buenos Aires.”

They were fine with me firing you, but wouldn’t give me a pass for Elaine.

[quote]And now with Andrea Martin...

I'm surprised Andrew Loyd Webber didn't sue their asses off. Forbidden Broadway asked permission to use music from POTO and he forbad it. S they had to use other music for the POTO sequence. But he was probably pissed off. In the POTO sequence, Sarah Brightman had these huge set of buck teeth.

Let me tell you about Hal Prince and Ruth Mitchell....

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

What ever happened to Klausner?

I saw Loni Ackerman in one of the original tours of No, No, Nanette playing the Helen Gallagher role. I thought she was fantastic and would be a big star. But it was in Greensboro so what did I know back then?

I certainly didn't know Nanette was co-produced by Cyma Rubin and Loni was her daughter.

But still, as my late partner George said about seeing Margot Fonteyn, sometimes talent just stands out like a sore thumb. Loni was great.

[quote] I certainly didn't know Nanette was co-produced by Cyma Rubin and Loni was her daughter.

Read the book about the creation of No No Nanette. It's really interesting. They really screwed over some people.

The Fritz Lang film, LILIOM, is on TCM at this very moment. It's the play CAROUSEL was based on. Stars Charles Boyer.

Loni Ackerman never fell on HER ass in Buenos Aires either.

Which is part of the reason she opened to rave reviews in the LA company only three months after Patti opened to mixed, at best, reviews in NY.

In the previous thread: it's "Move your bloomin' arse!"

Eliza would not have used "bloody." It was really blasphemous at the time.

Read Pygmalion, r20. The use of bloody is what caused the scandal.

Gilbert and Sullivan followed The Mikado with "Ruddygore; or, The Witch's Curse." In it's original form, it wasn't much liked and was considered G&S's first flop. Gilbert said "It put 5,000 pounds in my pocket. I could use a few such failures."

At any rate, the show became sarcastically called "Bloody Gore." A friend met Gilbert on the street at the time and asked how "Bloody Gore" was doing.

"The title is Ruddygore."

"Surely that's the same thing."

"Then it is the same to say 'I admire your ruddy countenance' -- which I do -- as 'I like your bloody cheek' -- which I don't."

Nonetheless the show was revised while it was running and the title changed to "Ruddigore."

OK, I half screwed that all up about Pygmalion and My Fair Lady and "Walk! Not bloody likely. I'm going in a taxi." and "Move your bloomin' arse!"

I assume it's arse. I have a hardback first edition of My Fair Lady and and arse is spelled as a dash. When I saw the original Moss Hart production, Gaylea Byrne got drowned out before the word came out. I think Audrey does actually say the vulgarism in the film.

Gilbert's Ruddigore comments I think I got correct.

Loni Ackerman was wonderful in No, No, Whoever and I have read the book.

I haven't been out of my apartment in 48 hours because of the bloody weather (9 inches outside instead of inside me where 9" belongs and tomorrow morning's wind chill is predicted to be -11 degrees) and the bloomin' Scotch has finally kicked in so I will ungracefully retire myself with my apologies.

I closed the previous thread with this, so reposting here...

Speaking of much-loved but undercelebrated musicals ripe for a revival.... Who's ready for another production of NEVER SAY NEVER from 1981? What diva dares to step into Sally Ross' custom made pumps?

Has anyone else covered "Hearts Not Diamonds"? What a glorious song. I last heard it when the late Dusty Springfield (god bless!) included it in her farwell tour.

And don't any of you suggest ENCORES. This show deserves the full Michael Bennett treatment of the original.

The Follies cast is apparently recording their cast album today. About fucking time.

Do any of you American queens listen to darling Elaine's Sunday afternoon radio show?

The show would be much better with darling Elaine and her infectious laugh. I swear she's off her tits on gin for each recording.

Patti admits herself her opening nights in LA and SF were bad. She blew her voice out in the first reherseal in LA and was out until the opening night. She missed all the technical reherseals and barely made through the opening. She blew her voice out again in the opening night and was out again for few days. Then she recorded the cast album during afternoons and performed in the evenings. When it closed in LA she had done the recording for a week and she had no voice left for the closing night. Klausner took over during interval. Show moved to SF and she blew her voice out yet again in the opening night.

She was certain she would be fired before Broadway. She couldn’t sing it. She rehearsed it daily during the entire Broadway run. Only in Australia she felt good singing it.

[quote]She was certain she would be fired before Broadway. She couldn’t sing it.

It wasn't just the singing. She couldn't do the part justice, any part of it. And having decided to cast a non-dancer like Patti, they should have redone the choreography for "Buenos Aires" which was so treacherous for her. It's a tough assignment, to be singing at that level and then have to dance, really dance, at the same time. Elaine Paige, Terri Klausner, and Loni Ackerman could all do it and triumph, because they were all dancers. Patti wasn't and couldn't.

She was definitely better in Act Two. Her two strongest moments were "High Flying, Adored" and "Rainbow High," which she owned the way she needed to own "Buenos Aires."

[quote]In the previous thread: it's "Move your bloomin' arse!"

[quote]Eliza would not have used "bloody." It was really blasphemous at the time.

That’s odd, because the “shocking” line in Pygmalion is “Walk? Not bloody likely! I’m going in a taxi.

The part for which Laura Linney would actually be great is Pal Joey ... bringing together the themes of the previous thread

And before pedants jump on me, obviously I mean Vera in Pal Joey

I can't believe anyone has actually fallen for the phony "Laura Linney in Gypsy!" routine. It's patently false, and not even particularly cleverly done.

If Laura Linney were ever to decide to do a musical, she wouldn't agree to one that has been revived constantly, usually with experienced musical theatre singers who are more than a match for the score.

Let's get back to Brian D'Arcy James. I saw him at NYSC on Mercer Street while he was performing in Hamilton at The Public. It was close to showtime so he was probably squeezing in a workout. Very sexy man. Skipped the steamroom but his ass looked mighty fine in black boxer briefs. No, I wasn't stalking. Our lockers just happened to be in the same row.

Who wrote the songs for The Fan? I can't find it on IMDB.

R34 Marvin Hamlisch and Tim Rice

Loni ZOE Ackerman, please. How quickly we forget.

Betsy Wolfe's wedding in the NYT reminded me of the whole mystery of her leaving Carousel - how do we still not know what happened there - at the time it seemed like she might be pregnant but clearly not so ...

She only kept the Zoe for "Nanette," and just for that Betty from Boston role. When she started playing Lucille, she was just "Loni Ackerman," which is how she stayed when she did Evita in LA, etc.

Loni Ackerman has been happily married for years to Steve Canyon Kennedy the Sound Designer for Jersey Boys and many other Broadway shows and concert venues. She's not starving.

I posted this comment about that scene in The Fan on the Lauren Bacall thread. The way he arrives LATE during her number, which is hardly the behavior of an obsessed fan, would have infuriated the real Lauren. Its a pity the rehearsal for her other number is not on YouTube, I seem to recall Sally complaining about the lighting man - "Is he learning on the job?!"

Any buzz on the UNDER THE RADAR, COIL shows this year? The Dane Terry show is totally sold out apparently. Anything else to catch?

Why would you need to go to the pre-digested Under the Radar and Coil when there are actual front edge artists in NYC all year round .

Is THE CHILDREN worth seeing?

R43-Sure. If you're about the age of 12.

More Hal stories! When will his legendary behavior come to light?

Poor quality, couldn't find better. This was during her short run in Sydney. She traveled from Sydney to NY to perform one song because it was time when she could sing it and enjoy the run.

Scott Rudin is looking for a new Executive Assistant. $50,000 per year, but you won't make it a full year.

I always think it's odd that Broadway producers want highly experienced people but won't pay for it. I guess they think being in the shadow of greatness is reward in itself. But a girl's gotta eat.

Look in your bloomers Tovah.

Hal has some serious skeletons in his closet. But at least they're not in bondage.

I saw Patti on Broadway in Evita many moons ago. She was amazing. Then I saw Flo Lacey at Westbury Music Fair.

He's got closets full of skeletons. But never in the closet himself.

Flo Lacey was my favorite Evita. She sang it the best, although she couldn't dance any better than Patti did. I saw her when she was the alternate Eva for Loni in LA. Then Flo took over and led the national tour.

It was interesting that Patti played Evita for two years. In the early 80s, that was almost unheard of. A lead actress did a show for 6 months or a year and then moved on. Of course, in her second year, the joke was, if you wanted to see Patti play Evita properly, you had to go see her club act down at Les Mouches. And of course, she always complained about the score and began changing notes and skipping notes and yelling notes instead of singing them.

Mandy "hammy"??? I'm shocked!

Actually shocked about the Ben Vereen news. He's a lovely man.

I am shocked that Ben Vereen was after women.

I'd forgotten how magnificent Lupone was in Evita. I can't believe they gave the movie to Madonna who can't sing for shit or act for that matter. I love that look in her eye at the end of the commercial. I'd also forgotten how truly beautiful she was when she was young.

At the link LuPone sings the entire song. Watch the tears come down her face. She was really something.

Woman can command a stage. Even in silence.

Yeah, R58, you notice that too, how powerful she is just standing in silence. Man, they don't make 'em like that anymore. I can't believe it's been 38 years.

R57 Ovations in the middle of the song, standing ovations in the end. Grammy Awards! Comparing to crap they perform nowadays in GA.

[quote]I'd forgotten how magnificent Lupone was in Evita. I can't believe they gave the movie to Madonna who can't sing for shit or act for that matter. I love that look in her eye at the end of the commercial. I'd also forgotten how truly beautiful she was when she was young.

Except she was pushing 50 by the time the movie was made.

Patti was still a nobody when the Evita movie was filmed. They needed a name to sell the movie.

[quote]I assume it's arse. I have a hardback first edition of My Fair Lady and and arse is spelled as a dash. When I saw the original Moss Hart production, Gaylea Byrne got drowned out before the word came out. I think Audrey does actually say the vulgarism in the film.

Yes, Audrey says "arse" in the film. I'm really surprised that the word is printed as a dash in your hardback first edition of MFL. As far as I know, censorship in publishing was far less severe in those days than for films and recordings, and anyway, that word is only a mild vulgarism. It's not like it's the "f" word.

Working for Rudin means signing a lengthy non-disclosure.

It also requires the dexterity to duck/avoid any sort of flying object.

Is it just that he's a prick, or is there any other reason a lengthy NDA is required? It's not as though his bullying is a secret, after all.

Anyone with Rudin's sort of volcanic, unpredictable temper would engage in all kinds of unhinged behavior over next-to-nothing. And while most people don't care who he is, he's narcissistic enough not to want to be publicly embarrassed by having a catalogue of his crazy tantrums and abusive behavior laid out for public consumption.

Not that we wouldn't get enormous enjoyment from reading about it. Knowing someone is a bully in a general sense is one thing - hearing a long litany of details is something else.

So, aside from the bullying, nothing Weinstein-esque was/is going on?

Part of me thinks if there was, R69, we would have heard something already. However, Weinstein was more vulnerable as his stature as a Hollywood power broker had greatly diminished by the time the accusations erupted.

Rudin, OTOH, is still VERY powerful in film and theater, so I think people would be much more wary of crossing him. There's a reason why most of the men in entertainment caught in the crosshairs of METOO have not been the real A-list power brokers, and you KNOW many of them are just as bad as Weinstein.

Also, Rudin is even more grossly unattractive than Weinstein IMO.

Has anyone else listened to Patti's interview on the Hollywood reporter's "awards chatter" podcast series? It's from about a year ago and is highly entertaining. Spoiler alert! Patti was bullied at Juilliard for being too talented.

All good points R70. Plus I guess Weinstein has a higher mainstream profile, and people enjoyed the gossip about actresses, whereas the idea of men having to fuck for roles isn't something the mainstream finds nearly as interesting.

The pressure must be on in Hollywood and New York right now for those types to keep making hits, lest they lose their power and experience a HW type downfall.

[quote]Spoiler alert! Patti was bullied at Juilliard for being too talented.

Oh, my sides. I'm falling on the floor laughing. Seriously? I'm sure if that were true she would have mentioned it in her auto-bio. Patti was in the first drama class so I don't think they focused on singing or dancing, just straight acting and frankly, she's no Maggie Smith in the acting department. And if anyone was doing the bullying, I'm sure it was LuPone.

I'm not sure if it was missed in the Patti news, or if people just don't care, but Ben Platt will also be performing at the Grammys, performing a number from West Side Story.

The thing that makes me anxious about that is Spielberg has wanted to do a remake of West Side Story for ages, and I do believe he owns the rights. Could this be a test balloon for a Platt-led remake? And just how awful would that be?

R74 Be more open-minded--I'm sure Platt would make a lovely Maria!

True, R75, but you know he's itching to play Anita. He's got the cha-cha heels ready.

What DID happen to the Spielberg West Side Story? Wasn't it announced around the same time as the Streisand Gypsy?

[quote]What DID happen to the Spielberg West Side Story?

He had to wait until Arthur died. Coz Arthur would never have approved his casting. And Arthur would have wanted to direct or be a "special consultant." Arthur was like that.

"How many bullets, Chino? How many bullets can I shoot and still have one left for me?" Drama queen. So you learned that everything wasn't free in America. Just get on with your life.

Were there any suggestions as to who he planned to cast?

R73 Patti wrote Juilliard was hard difficult because they wanted to reshape everyone, distroy and re-build their personalities as actors. She was never thought as a leading lady and used to perform on smaller stage. They didn’t know what to do with her so they gave her everything and anything to play. She wrote it was actually the best thing they could have done. Later she began to get leading parts.

Sooooooo, hearing the first salvo of the NYT Broadway choreographer harassment explosion is soon to hit, two MAJOR upcoming shows are gonna need plenty of antacid, among other remedies...

I remember how stunning that LuPone "Buenos Aires" was when it aired on the Tonys. She is clearly happy and healthy and having a great time on that tape. I didn't know it was done during her Australian run, but it makes sense, since she loved doing the show there and felt like she finally got the respect and notices she deserved.

[quote]hearing the first salvo of the NYT Broadway choreographer harassment explosion is soon to hit,

Just in time for the Laura Linney "Gypsy"!

Ben Platt. How did he become a "star"? Can we please send him back to Beverly Hills?

Oh, I thought this thread was a joke. I thought OP was being funny. I thought there is no way Patti LuPone will sing a tribute to ALW. How did this happen? Any details? Will ALW sit in the audience? His memoirs are coming out within two months. Have Patti and Andrew finally made up? These are serious Broadway thread questions. Patti is able to sing the song with the same keys she did almost 40 years ago.

No, r85, it's true. Patti will sing "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" as a tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Why did she swallow her pride and agree to do it? Even though a girl's gotta eat, Patti isn't hurting for work.

I think she's doing it because the Grammy Awards will get her national exposure. But why did they pick her? There are much more famous people who could tribute Andrew Lloyd Webber.

With LuPone, there's the thing of her having sung "Don't Cry for Me..." on the Grammys decades ago. So it's a nice little circle to have her back doing it again. And who were they going to have do it, if not Patti? Elaine Paige wouldn't have been as meaningful in this context.

But Phantom of the Opera is ALW's most successful show. It's been running on Broadway for 10 billion years. Surely, they could have had a male performer come on and sing something from POTO. And then have a woman do the West Side Story bit.

R86 Thanks. And I understand why this musical song and Patti. His best score most famous song from it and Patti singing it again after all these years R87 and R88. I am sure we will get more info from Patti or ALW or Grammys. This is huge because I am big LuPone fan, have been for decades. I’ll travel to London just to see her in Company.

[quote]Ben Platt. How did he become a "star"? Can we please send him back to Beverly Hills?

Oh my, my, my, someone's jealous.

Hardly, r90. I just find him the most annoying performer currently on Broadway.

Maybe if "Dear Evan Hanson" had better songs, I'd be able to get into him, but I doubt it.

Ben Platt has serious emotional issues, his award winning performance was the modern equivalent to John Merrick attending a society ball, the freak wooed the embracing gentry, let’s see where darling miss pervasive developmental disorder 2016 lands in five years...

[quote]Were there any suggestions as to who he planned to cast?

Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep ARE Tony and Maria!

R92 Stalking Timothee Chalamet if his tweets are anything to go by

the Ben Vereen story is so strange. Why was he directing a community theatre production? Why did he wait until age 68 to display this kind of behaviour? How will this affect his future career? He's beloved in many circles.

He didn't wait til 68 but it didn't reach the press til now.

he's never been one to be verbally abusive, R96. He was never one to make degrading comments about or be aggressively physical in rehearsal. There's lots of people who are like that, and have been long talked about like that, but Ben hasn't been among them. I'm not defending him and am glad the actresses spoke up about it...it's just disappointing.

Wow, R94. I do get the impression that Ben is a fan!

Will Pinnochio come to New York? I can't imagine there are that many people clamoring for it, and the reviews have been all over the map.

Whatever happened to Jungle Book? It seemed to have great reviews coming out of ART and then nothing. Were people predicting another Tarzan style flop?

I think they should revive Aida. Rework the book a bit, dust off a few new songs (keep favorite suit, written in the stars, elaborate lives, and gods love nubia but ditch... just about everything else) and maybe try and finally produce the original staging concept with the moving glass pyramids.

Speaking of Spielberg it’s such a shame he never got around to directing that Gershwin biopic starring Zachary Quinto.

Spielberg is a real slacker. More pictures on the shelves than in theaters.

Rumor is Alec Baldwin is in serious talks to play Herbie opposite Laura Linney in Gypsy.

Barbra must be fuming because Alec was her choice for the movie Herbie that will never get made.

Louise, I’m told, will be a musical theatre actress and not a name.

1. I can't believe that Forbidden Broadway went to ALW for permission to use his music since so much of it is plagiarized.

2. You really cannot compare Patti LuPone and Elaine Page as Evita was reworked between London and The USA. The London production was heavily criticized for being too kind to Evita. The relationship between Che and Evita was far more playful. (When Peron died, Che was still a student biking though South America.) In the US production the two started angry and went up from there. I think LuPone was cast specifically because she is a harder, less sympathetic actress than Elaine Page.

Just an FYI, I saw Evita in London during previews.

[quote]The London production was heavily criticized for being too kind to Evita.

Which was actually a change from the concept album with Julie Covington which was harsher both musically and character wise. I think Covington sings "Fuck the middle classes, I will never accept them..." By the time it reached Broadway, Patti was singing "Screw the middle classes...."

[quote] 1. I can't believe that Forbidden Broadway went to ALW for permission to use his music since so much of it is plagiarized.

It's hilarious because in Forbidden Broadway they reference that by singing: "Oh mio bambino Phantom, your music tops the list. The only problem is Puccini is awfully pissed."

I think those around Lloyd Webber told him it was petty to criticize a satire show and I think he finally gave in and allowed his melodies to be used.

Forbidden Broadway has always skated a fine legal line. It’s a tiny show and there is no way it could afford to pay for the music it uses. But it’s seen by the Broadway community as a positive part of theatre culture, so they look the other way.

Except Andy, who’s an asshole.

Sondheim is on record as saying “the nastier, the better” in reference to the FB paradise of him and his work. (“Into the Words!”)

"Into the Words" was one of the great FB parodies.

[quote]"Into the Words" was one of the great FB parodies.

It was good. My favorite was "Chita/Rita". In today's politically correct climate, it probably wouldn't even make it.

I hate though that in that Chita/Rita clip above, they cut one of the best lines.

Rita: I can play any role I choose.

Chita: Gypsies, Italians and black Jews.

Forbidden Broadway used to be so wickedly, bitchily funny.

I love that line! And wasn't there a place where they originally threw in the "I know you do"?

Berkeley Rep is about to do a new production of Angels in America - Randy Harrison as Prior, Bob the Drag Queen as Belize, and ... Stephen Spinella as Roy Cohn.

I would much rather see that cast than sit through the National's cast again.

R102, I heard that Brie Larson was in talks to play Louise. Everyone knows she was known for musical theater before her tv/film career hit it big.

Brie Larson is signed for the revival of Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? You heard it here first.

Lea Michele is signed for the "I Can Get It For You Wholesale" revival. She's playing the Elliott Gould role.

Actually the rumors are a color blind cast for Louise and they are looking at Nikki M James.

And Seriously DL fave Ashley Day for Tulsa. He’s the best dancer of the bunch they are looking at

So so far this is how it’s alledgedly shaping up

Laura Linney as Rose

Alec Baldwin as Herbie

Nikki M. James as Louise

Ashley Day as Tulsa

The stripper trio is being auditioned now.

"Speaking of Spielberg it’s such a shame he never got around to directing that Gershwin biopic starring Zachary Quinto"

Or Scorsese with the far more appropriate De Niro.

Colorblind casting for West Side Story!

Brie Larson and Jon Jon Brionnes ARE Tony and Maria!

Frankie James Grande IS Anita!

James Earl Jones IS Bernardo!

OMG at Lena Dunham as Mazzepa. Funniest post in this thread.

Saw Ivo van Hove’s production of Network at the NT on Wednesday night. It’s really an empty vessel but the production is superb and Bryan Cranston is great as Howard Beale. Michelle Dockery (Lady Cuntface on Downton) is just OK. I think Diana Christensen should be a blonde. And there were no black executive producers of network news back then.

I'm available for Consuela! But I might be too young. Nevermind.

Catherine Zeta-Jones IS Doc!

You fucking cunts, I actually DO have a REAL musical coming out - a movie. "Basmati Blues." Hear me sing and dance a tale of Bollywood.

Nikki M. James turned it down, and Ashley Day couldn't get a waiver from Equity, so Louise and Tulsa are still wide open.

And it's rumored Alec Baldwin will also pull out because Jan Maxwell is close to signing for Mazeppa/Miss Cratchit.

[quote]Or Scorsese with the far more appropriate De Niro.

I assume you mean 40 years ago. DeNiro wouldn't really have been right for Gershwin, and Scorsese would have doubtless fucked the whole thing up.

Yes, because Scorsese is really well known for being a terrible director.

CZJ is starring in an upcoming Lifetime TV movie. Seriously, is her reputation so bad that's the only job she can get?

I would much rather see a production of the show Bacall was closing at the beginning of The Fan, "It's Called Tomorrow." That fucking title sent us all into peals of laughter and we still cackle over it.

It's a wonderful title, as the critics all pointed out when I did the original straight play version in '53, right after my triumphant "Cora" in "Footsteps on the Ceiling" and right before my award winning "Mrs. Fiske" in "God is my Stage Prompter!"

I still think this is head and shoulders above The Forbidden Broadway ALW number.

R125, I thought this version of Network took place today

I kinda really want a Laura Linney Gypsy to happen now. Or maybe she should do the movie instead of Babs. Who am I kidding? The only name who could greenlight that would be Meryl and she'd be awful.

I dunno. Hearing Donna Murphy’s voice on those songs might be thrilling.

I vote for a Liza/Gaga Gypsy.

Gypshy

Here's a question for theater historians. In The Crown, the PM (and his straying wife) go to see a performance of Beyond The Fringe. Other than that show playing in New York, were there any shows of that type playing off-Broadway? A kind of musical comedy revue that incorporated current events? Are there just not any talent writers that could pull that off today?

Laura Linney

GYPSY

also Starring

Alec Baldwin. Nikki Rene Daniels

with

Ashley Day and Carolee Carmella as Mazeppa

r142, Alec Baldwin would not take an under the title credit.

Sorry, I know this topic is several dozen posts old but Don't Cry for Me Argentina is a five-minute song, Maria and Something's Coming each run maybe three minutes. Would the Grammys devote this much time to musical theatre? Today's audiences, whether on TV or at MSG, can't sit still that long. Even Hamilton got maybe four. I would hate to see them cut a verse from Don't Cry.

r144, there's one thing I know. Patti wouldn't sign on if she couldn't sing the whole song. They'll give her the full five minutes. And it's a tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber, so I'm sure the sequence will be given at least 10 minutes because there will have to be a speech and everyone will applaud him.

R145 Marking down this post so we can refer to it the day after the Grammys and it was actually some awful Pasek & Paul produced medley of Evita and West Side Story mixed together.

Are Patti and Ben even going to be in the same segment? It would seem odd that a tribute to ALW would include a song from WSS.

Anyway, I'm glad LL Cool J is no longer hosting. I don't know how he even got the gig in the first place. I don't hate James Corden so best of luck to him.

or how he ever got a Kennedy Center Award!

R147, I thought it was a tribute to Broadway since this is the first time the Grammys will be in New York in years. A kind of WELCOME HOME, if you will.

[QUOTE]In light of the show’s return to New York after 15 years, two-time Grammy winner LuPone will reprise her 1981 performance of “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina,” and Dear Evan Hansen’s currently nominated Platt will perform a classic from West Side Story, in a special Broadway tribute honoring the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Leonard Bernstein.

r148 Yikes, I know. Him, Gloria Estefan, and Lionel Richie all in the same year. Gloria even got the Presidential Medal of Freedom two years before.

r149 I'll take any Broadway I can get but unless they load the audience with Ben Platt fangurls, I can't imagine this being received well. The first couple of dozen rows will be taken up mostly by nominees, who generally don't care about musical theater. Imagine how their tepid applause will look on TV. Good luck, anyway. I hope they change people's minds.

R151 Even Hamilton got a somewhat tepid reception, though perhaps that could be blamed on them doing it via satellite.

Patti is called stage legend, the grand dame of musical theater, two-time Grammy winner, Northport native (Grammys back in NY after 15 yrs), who fronted the original 1979 Broadway production, by various online media news sites and blogs and is reprising her 1981 performance. Amazing words for a 68-year-old Broadway star. She surely wasn’t excpecting this, right? Makes me very happy!

r153 As long as she doesn't reprise the dress.

R154 True and her hair was badly done.

I actually prefer LuPone without bangs. I think she looks better with a forehead.

[quote]reprising her 1981 performance

Why 1981? Was she doing something different then than she was doing in 1979 when it opened?

The FOLLIES movie has FINALLY gotten the green light!

R157 She performed the song in 1981 Grammys.

Holy crap!

Laura Linney on Broadway as Rose and Laura Linney on film as Phyllis!!

Actually I like Linney as Phyllis. Could you imagine Julianne Moore as Sally opposite her?

r160 Maybe you're forgetting that she has to do the Loveland sequence. Even Ah, but Underneath is beyond her, I'm thinking. But she'll land those zingers.

Catherine Zeta-Jones as Phyllis, Megan Mullally as Sally

If Cate Blanchett could sing, she’d make a terrific Phyllis. Or Vera in Pal Joey, for that matter.

Has anyone purchased a London Follies boot? How's the quality? I saw it in the theater but thought I might like to have a copy.

Very good, r165. I think the video quality was actually better than what we got at our crappy theatre. BTW, you don't have to buy. I'll say nothing more.

Thanks r166. I'll search my sources. I didn't know it was in the public domain.

Ha ha, "in the public domain" is stretching it a bit!

Can you give a minor hint where it is?

261 E. 45th Street, r169. Knock twice and ask for “Pete.”

Let me spell this out for you.

I

don't

own the rights to this

production, so

expect no broad hints

. But once there,

search "follies 2017" then hit

enter.

oh crap, i don't have a VPN. Guess I have to get that first.

Christ, Ben Platt is one fucking ugly bastard.

Laura Linney as Phyllis would be kinda awesome. Cate Blanchett would be, too. I mean, I'm sure just about anyone has the range for Phyllis. It's not a challenging sing.

I highly doubt she could sing it, but Julianne Moore really would be an excellent Sally. She's great as those desperate housewives.

WHOA?! So Laura Benanti is going to try Fosca?!! Workshop beginning end of month...

Oh hell, I'd like to see Ben Platt naked.

Why on earth would they drag up that piece of shit "Passion"? Doesn't matter who plays Fosca, it's still a terrible musical.

Julianne Moore, if she could sing it, could give a definitive “Losing My Mind”

Why all this discussion of casting for a Follies movie? It's not happening, and it doesn't matter whether Julianne Moore can sing or not. There's no movie happening that would require her to.

And these people are all so old, anyway. Sally should be 49-50. Same with Phyllis.

That said, someone who's too old who has the potential to be a definitive Phyllis is Michelle Pfeiffer.

Ben Platt, Jennifer Ashley Tepper, Patti Murin, oh nelly! You heard it here first...!!!!!

Laura Linney Julianne Moore Alec Baldwin William H Macy

FOLLIES

HA! R182! I like Cate Blanchett better as Phyllis but if she and the rest could sing, that would be some movie cast. Actually, Zellwegger might be a better fit for Sally (and at least can sing, though not really in the Sondheim/period style). Moore is brilliant and great at unhappy housewives but, I think, too knowing and self-aware for Sally, not deluded enough. Baldwin and Macy are great choices for the men, though. God knows who we'll end up with if Bill Condon and Rob Marshall ever actually do get their way.

Hearing Patti Murin is having stomach trouble...

Wasn't there talk back in the mid to late 70s of a Michael Bennett directed film of Follies? His concept was of a group of older film stars meeting on an old soundstage of a recently sold studio, or something like that, using old footage cut into the present. I thought I remembered something like it but Google didn't bring up anything.

Agreed, r183, I love Julianne Moore but she's too urban and self-aware for Sally - Mullally is a better idea

Maybe Patti is pregnant? With Colin Donnell as your husband, who wouldn't be?

Julianne Moore sang in What Maisie Knew.

[quote]Wasn't there talk back in the mid to late 70s of a Michael Bennett directed film of Follies?

Yes. Supposedly both Bette Davis and Joan Crawford were interested in doing it. Lucille Ball all must have given them false hope that they could be movie musical stars.

I believe the New York Public Library at Lincoln Center has some copies of different Follies movie script treatments in their research files.

John Springer, Hal Prince's press agent, even made a list of people he thought should play the roles:

Buddy: GENE KELLY

Sally: DEBBIE REYNOLDS

Ben: RICHARD BURTON (also: FRED ASTAIRE)

Phyllis: ELIZABETH TAYLOR (also: GINGER ROGERS)

Carlotta: BETTE DAVIS

Hattie: JOAN CRAWFORD

Solange: LESLIE CARON

Heidi: GLORIA SWANSON

Stella: LENA HORNE

John Springer's letter to the NYT regarding Follies movie.

Also the book "Bette and Joan: The Divine Feud" talks about the Follies movie. But they get it wrong in saying Crawford would play Yvonne De Carlo's role.

What a wonderfully relaxed, ego-free set that would have been!

Moore is self aware...HOWEVER...her performance in the HOURS is basically a non singing Sally Durant. I truly think she would be amazing if she could sing it.

[quote]What a wonderfully relaxed, ego-free set that would have been!

Everybody talks about Bette and Joan not getting along, but can you imagine Debbie and Liz Taylor working together? Debbie says she forgave Liz, but you have to wonder. And yes, they did work together later in life, so I guess she really did.

She's already done it r175.......

Having Laura Benanti play Fosca is discrimination against ugly people. They should have an ugly actor play her.

Florence Klotz based Yvonne de Carlo's look for Carlotta on 1960s Joan Crawford so there's every reason to think Joan would have felt she earned the role in the film version.

But Bette Davis was going to play Yvonne's role. They thought Joan should play Hattie who sings Broadway Baby.

Did you know that Mary charged only ten cents?

How weird that they use a song from Threepenny Opera in the middle of all that.

[quote]Did you know that Mary charged only ten cents?

And even at that price the customers were getting ripped off. She's a dyke, ya know? Oh wait, you're not talking about Mary Martin? Well for fuck's sake, why didn't you say so?

FOLLIES

Starring

Cate Blanchett as Phyllis

Kate Winslet as Sally Durant

Alec Baldwin as Benjamin Stone

William H. Macy as Buddy

Barbra Streisand as Carlotta

Sophia Loren as Ah Paree

Bette Midler as Hattie

Cher as Who’s That Woman

Cher is too laid back for "Who's That Woman". Put Midler in the "Who's That Woman" role and give Hattie to Patti LuPone.

#203 that’s actually a brilliant idea. Can we get this whole cast to happen??

Are these women supposed to have been showgirls? Imelda Staunton is short enough to have her own reality show on TLC. Please.

R205, I am not going to do your research for you, but before you post a stupid comment, learn about the different classes of female chorus members in the follies.

[quote]Yes. Supposedly both Bette Davis and Joan Crawford were interested in doing it. Lucille Ball all must have given them false hope that they could be movie musical stars.

I don't know about that LeSueur cunt, but I was ALREADY a musical star!

I just don't get Laura Benanti. She is beautiful, has skills, has a lovely voice, but there's something about her that rubs me the wrong way. She fancies herself as a comedian, and, perhaps, she is funny in person and really is a comedienne, but watching her trying to do comedy always comes off forced and that she has no sense of humor at all. She's going through the motions, but she just can't land the joke. Does anyone here know her? IS she funny? or painfully unfunny?

Bette Darling, I came out of mother's womb performing musically.

R208, she was hysterical in Women on the Verge, but that is the only instance where I can think of her being funny. There is something rather cold and hard about her. She really did not fit in the Drew Barrymore role in The Wedding Singer.

An actor can't be taught comedy. You either have it or you don't. And of course there are different types of comedy. Lucille Ball wasn't very good at landing a punchline, but give her a physical bit to do and she rose to the top.

R211, you may be on to something. Women on the Verge was more physical comedy for her role than verbal comedy.

Now that we’ve cast the Follies movie and Laura Linney’s Gypsy revival, lets do others

Oliver! NBC Thanksgiving 2020

Gwen Stefani IS Nancy

Blake Shelton IS Sikes

Steven Tyler IS Fagin

[quote]you may be on to something.

I think it's also about energy (if you've ever studied the Laban technique). People like Madeline Kahn could release an energy in their performance that would have people dying of laughter.

I went to college with a black woman who could just give a look and have everyone laughing. She was always cast in comedy roles. People tried to imitate what she did and could never capture her unique talent. One of her best was what I called the slow turn. Someone would say something and she would very slowly turn her head and look at them like they were the stupidest person on Earth. Her timing was impeccable. She could sustain the laughs on that turn for quite awhile. I always suspected she modified Bea Arthur's camera stare from Maude, but she would never admit to it.

[quote] Oliver! NBC Thanksgiving 2020 Gwen Stefani IS Nancy

I've always preferred the hard, gravel Nancy of the stage's Georgia Brown to the pretty, petite Nancy of the movie's Shani Wallis. I also liked Sophie Okenedo's twitchy drug-addicted performance in the non-musical version.

Adele IS Nancy

Annie Get Your Gun

Taylor Swift *IS* Annie Oakley

Blake Shelton *IS* Frank Butler

Billy Ray Cyrus is Buffalo Bill

Can anyone explain summertheater's weird obsession with Mankind over on ATC?

Summertheater is a big troll persona. Nothing more. Unlike Teacher64, who appears to be an avowed pedophile.

Benanti also kinda rubs me wrong too. The only thing I really loved her in was “Nine” - no comedy needed.

I liked her in Nine and Gypsy--finally, a Louise who actually had a personality before the strip scene. Loved her less in She Loves Me (some of it was her more bellicose characterization, some the vibrato in her voice), but no one can match the imagined performance by Barbara Cook I have inferred from decades of listing to the OBC. (And I liked her much more than Linda Frangipani or whoever took over for Judy Kuhn by the time I saw the first revival). I do lover he YouTube Fosca bit. I think she may try too hard often to be funny--she's at her best when she just lets the humor emerge on its own, like her Melanoma Trump. She would have made a good Apassionate von Climax.

Benanti has a Mean Girls vibe about her that is very off-putting. Especially in a role like Amalia Balash.

I have no memory of her in Nine, take that as you will. I did like her in Gypsy, but it is not a comedy role. I think her steeliness worked for Louise. You could see how Louise would take her very few talents and make the best of them.

She Loves Me really isn't her fault. It was an intentional casting choice. They wanted a contemporary women which really isn't the best choice for what is essentially an operetta.

I agree about the "mean girl" vibe. Unfortunately, she is too old for the upcoming musical.

Benanti is so hard to read. She’s likeable but so easy to make fun of. She’s down to earth and yet a bitch.

Didn’t Sandra Bernhardt hate her the first time Benanti was on her radio show?

Isn’t it DList to get into a feud with a RADIO host who was knownish 20 years ago?

[quote]MacFarlane's right. As good as The Band's Visit, is anyone humming those songs?

There are some lovely melodies in THE BAND'S VISIT, for example the last song. And all of the songs work beautifully in context even if they're not "hummable" in the style of Rodgers et al.

[quote]She Loves Me really isn't her fault. It was an intentional casting choice. They wanted a contemporary women which really isn't the best choice for what is essentially an operetta.

I would say Cook comes across as a very modern woman on the original cast album, so that wasn't the problem with Benanti's performance. The problem was a lack of subtlety, a tendency to underline everything and overemphasize. I'm guessing the director had a lot to do with that.

I think “Answer Me” is gorgeous. And “Omar Sharif” is beautiful too.

[quote]Lucille Ball wasn't very good at landing a punchline,

She didn’t need to be. That’s what I was there for.

[quote]I think “Answer Me” is gorgeous. And “Omar Sharif” is beautiful too.

Agreed. Sorry, the quote from Seth MacFarlane was from a previous thread, but it was a pretty silly quote, so I wanted to comment on it.

Re Benanti . I think she comes across as cold and narcissistic, and she uses the humor to advance herself, and not the humor of a situation. She might be a lovely person for all I know, but I don't see even an ounce of genuine warmth in her.

Not to mention the tedious self-pitying when she inevitably misses shows.

I think Jon Hamm and Kim Cattrall would make the definitive Ben and Phyllis Stone.

Hamm doesn't have the gravitas for Benjamin Stone. He reads too oily , and not someone who would have ten elderly men from the UN over for dinner. Hookers, maybe. Statesmen, not so much. Cattrall would be a good call, though, but they're not even the same generation, are they? I think of Cattrall is being much older than Hamm.

Wasn't Kim Catrall super close to doing the last Broadway revival before Jan Maxwell? I remember several sites saying she was close to official and then the bottom fell out. Maybe they didn't have enough money. She really would be an excellent Phyllis. I also remember the revival before that throwing out names like Cybill Shepherd, Jean Smart, and Sigourney Weaver (who is almost the spitting image of Alexis Smith).

I thought Laura Benanti was easily the best Louise I've ever seen. She was genuinely awkward and funny and managed to make the transition to cold, aloof Gypsy better than anyone else that I've seen. She was remarkable. For that performance, I've always had a soft spot for her.

I am humming The Bands Visit. How can you not hum Omar Shariff?

I remember Zan Charisse was a fine Louise with Lansbury, too. Rex Robbins as Herbie had a funny bio in the Playbill where it said he had recently taken up stripping, having just been nude in the play the "Changing Room" (with most of the rest of the cast).

Martine McCutcheon could have been the definitive Louise but the dumb bitch threw her career away by skipping performances of My Fair Lady to go out clubbing. Big mistake to piss off Cameron Mackintosh.

Was Follies vid taken down from that special place cuz I can't find it?

Nor can i, if the special place has a you in it.

Bitches, I'm the one who posted a link to the Bette Dolly bootleg a few months back. You owe me! Now post a fucking link!

r236 r237 r238 Check r171. It's still there.

There'll be no stopping that Pasek and Paul now!

I wish I could decipher what this special place is.

Not difficult to figure you YouBoob. And, I just searched and it's not there

I picked up the Follies vid last night from 171's special place. The only problem is that it's 6GB and won't play on my computer.

[quote]Use VLC.

I am. The file drags unless I decrease the speed to 40% and that makes everyone sing like they are riding on the special bus. I tried to convert using VLC and it crashed.

Still having nightmares over Janie Dee’s hideous frock. CZJ wouldn’t have let them put that monstrosity on her.

R245 Try converting it with Handbrake.

I'll give handbrake a try. With VLC, I tried to convert the pre-show file as well and all I could get was audio.

[quote]Bitches, I'm the one who posted a link to the Bette Dolly bootleg a few months back. You owe me! Now post a fucking link!

Follies is not on the Tube. Are you familiar with how torrents work?

What is this special place everyone keeps referring to? Are there unicorns and pony rides?

“The special place” has been featured in both Get Out and Stranger Things.

I know Benanti, and she is very quick and witty. It comes natural to her. She is very self-deprecating. Also very nice. She has occasionally been miscast but I think has had a pretty enviable career, especially in a world where sopranos get no love.

Laura Dern was delightful tonight. Could we lure her to Broadway? Surely she wants a Tony for her street cred

Laura Dern is Rose in GYPSY! Sorry, Laura Linney.

Actually, that would be kinda awesome. Anyone who's seen Enlightened knows Dern can bring the crazy.

Benanti is actually very warm, and now that she’s far from her “party phase”, she healthy, she’s not anything like she was a number of years ago, like when she did that FX show, she was mentally ill then...she also has no gag reflex. Bingo!

I think in ten years, Laura Benanti would be terrific as Margaret in a revival of Light in the Piazza .

[quote]in a revival of Light in the Piazza .

Hopefully nobody wants to revive that snoozefest. How about if she plays the wife in a revival of Parade?

Laura Benanti is laugh out loud funny as Melania. She and my friend have crossed paths a few times behind the scenes in theatres and he can do absolutely nothing for her career and he says she is an absolute sweetheart.

[quote]Bitches, I'm the one who posted a link to the Bette Dolly bootleg a few months back. You owe me! Now post a fucking link!

I'll assume that has since disappeared?

Is there any buzz about how Bernadette and Victor Garber will be in Hello, Dolly! when they take over in a few days?

They'll be adequate, as you'd expect.

Once again, no "expose" on Broadway directors/choreographers. This will go down as Broadway's version of the Tulip collapse.

Highly doubtful that the lack of a salacious article about Broadway directors/choreographers will bring about the collapse of the economy of The Netherlands r263.

Isn't it a bit early in the thread for a WILDCAT reference r265?

Laura Benanti IS Wildcat Jackson!

with Cheyenne Jackson as Joe Dynamite

[quote]How about if she plays the wife in a revival of Parade?

Parade is ten times the snooze fest that Light in the Piazza is. At least Piazza has good melodies.

So she smoked during rehearsals. No wonder she tired so easily.

[quote]At least Piazza has good melodies.

If you like to hear the same type of song over and over for two hours. Parade has gospel, funk, ballad, uptempo, aria, musical tastes for the discerning listener.

Here's the rest of the upcoming Passion casting: Benanti as Fosca, Steven Pasquale as Giorgio and Philippa Soo as Clara. It will be a tight race between Benanti and Laura Linney for the Tony this year.

[quote]Parade has gospel, funk, ballad, uptempo, aria,

And not a melody to be had in any of them.

the premature announcement of the Ragtime reunion concert reminded me that we haven't heard anything about how Marin Mazzie is doing. Maybe no news is good news?

I finally got to see Midler's DOLLY and thought she was terrific.

Forgive me if this was discussed earlier, but I noticed some minor revisions in the book, particularly at the end where Dolly returns Horace's purse to him. Was this in the original version? It wasn't in the 1994 Channing revival, nor in the Merman bootleg. I suppose it only makes sense in light of the addition of 'Penny In My Pocket' (which I hated, BTW), but I was curious if that was originally written by Michael Stewart or someone unaccredited.

Secondly, I though the Waiter's Gallop wasn't as energetic as I remember it. In the 1994 revival it built and built into a real frenzy, but in this production it never achieved that fever pitch.

I know I'm the only person who thinks the two Merman songs are worth reinstating, but I couldn't help think how wonderful it would've been to have Midler shake the rafters with 'World, Take Me Back', or break our hearts with 'Love, Look in My Window'

Bette Midler could barely sing the songs in the show now; she would have more trouble with Merman's songs.

There are ten fewer ensemble members in the current production than there were in the original--that takes a toll on the choreography.

What production is that Waiter's Galop photo from?

Is Beanie Feldstein continuing with the show? She's great in LadyBird and I would think she'd want to do more film work.

This is the way it's done, bitches! Dorothy, Cook, stony Judith, weepy Bernadette, batshit crazy Imelda, bow to the queen!

I prefer Liza’s version she did with the Pet Shop Boys

I didn't hate the Midler Dolly (and I thought she was mostly pretty good in it although not good in voice), but I detested the Waiter's Gallop. It was weak choreo and it wen't on forever. It's like somebody in the production thought, "You know what this show needs right here? The Lambeth Walk, but with dumb props!"

I have only ever seen the movie and a few community productions. The number has never particularly worked for me, but it was insufferable in the current incarnation.

Dolly returns Horace's purse to him in The Matchmaker.

Just sayin'.

[quote] Is Beanie Feldstein continuing with the show? She's great in LadyBird and I would think she'd want to do more film work.

How much in demand could that fat, hideous hunchback possibly be? She should stay with Dolly until they have Nene Leakes playing her.

[quote] What production is that Waiter's Gallop photo from?

It's from Richard Skipper's website. He identifies it as the Betty Grable Chicago company, 1966, which would lead one to conclude it was the original choreography

Yes, it's the original choreography. I recognize some of those guys.

r281 Yes, but then I'm sure you would have had Dolly fetch Horace's slippers if somebody paid you a dollar to write it, you tired nobody.

There’s no Benanti Passion, there’s no Linney Gypsy, and there’s no NYT Broadway expose.

Got it?

Well, fuck. Now what am I gonna do?

r287 Gypsy in a few years, probably.

I know this kinda weird, but I can't get enough of Bernadette's "CRUUUUUUUUUUUNCH!" at the end of this performance.

r247, thanks for the suggestion of Handbrake. It worked on the file and I can now relive the splendor of National Theatre's Follies.

I guess Tracie Bennett is as close to what Judy Garland would have done with the role. I think Judy would have found a bit more depth in some places, but Bennett delivers a good performance.

Marcia Gay Harden needs to come back to Broadway.

John Slattery and Marcia Gay Harden star in "Death Of A Salesman."

Marcia Gay Harden is readying her "Gypsy."

[quote] There are ten fewer ensemble members in the current production than there were in the original--that takes a toll on the choreography.

Well that explains why 'Before the Parade Passes By' looked so anemic

Please tell me the parade didn't come through the audience. I hate it when they do that.

If you saw the original Waiter's Gallop, you wouldn't have found it wanting.

I enjoyed Hello, Dolly! - it is largely very well done, and about as well executed a revival as we can hope for. Where it falters is with Warren Carlyle's contributions. In almost every instance where he significantly changed Gower Champion's choreography either in whole or in part, as in "Dancing," "Before the Parade Passes By" and "Waiter's Gallop," he has weakened it, which makes the show feel a bit more quaint and creaky than it does with Champion's loopier, more idiosyncratic work. The numbers Carlyle mostly left alone, like "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" and the title song, land like they are supposed to. The new orchestrations are also not as interesting as the Phil Lang originals, but they are at least capture the sound of a 1960s musical comedy.

Alan Cumming to play first openly gay lead character on a network TV drama. I've always liked him, but I wonder if he's a bit too quirky to carry off the lead in a TV show.

[quote]Alan Cumming to play first openly gay lead character on a network TV drama.

Are you saying that Alan Cumming is a gay man playing a lead or that the character is gay?

Alan Cumming is best in small doses.

Bernadette sounds godawful on that YouTube clip.

I always thought Cumming was too quirky, too, but his portrayal of the PR guy in The Good Wife was a revelation. It's possible that the character is written as too quirky, but, if not, he could pull it off.

Doesn't Cumming identify as bisexual? So it's just the character who is gay.

Who is "JBS"? Jubilation B. Shaw, perhaps? If you are going to try a snarky joke, it helps to be literate, jerkwad.

Book your tickets now for "Jerry Springer - The Opera." It's in a small theater (200 seats) and I believe a limited run. I went to a talk last night at the Guggenheim where the composer, director (Rando) and choreographer discussed the show. Most of the cast appeared and sang 3 or 4 songs.

For those who have a negative reaction to the thought of an "opera," it's not one. It's a musical although some of the characters (and their situations) are very operatic. It is profane and crazy (just like watching a J. Springer episode). If there are any tender hearts who object to that, they should stay away. What I got to see was a hoot! And everyone has a fantastic voice.

If I recall correctly r306, it was originally well received. I had expected a NY production long before now.

I would have thought "openly gay lead character" was pretty self-explanatory, regardless the identity of the actor playing the part.

Cumming is as bi as Andy Mentius.

For anyone interested in getting the National Theatre's Follies on DVD from iOffer, I got mine yesterday. It is crisp and clear and exactly what was shown in the NT Live broadcast, including the brief Sondheim mini-documentary. (There are some jaggies in medium close-up when characters move quickly, but that could be my ancient player or monitor. All in all, it's a very good copy.)

[QUOTE]I had expected a NY production long before now

It got a massive amount of criticism and protests (and even an attempted prosecution for blasphemy) from religious groups in Britain - and if it got that reaction in Britain, I'm sure producers could guess what it would get in America and so likely killed any transfer.

[quote]I would have thought "openly gay lead character" was pretty self-explanatory, regardless the identity of the actor playing the part.

The reason I asked is that I didn't see anything in the trailer that led me to believe he was gay. It looks like they're trying to cash in on the Brit's success with crime dramas but thought they'd be cool and add a bit of quirky comedy to it.

Wasn’t yesterday the FOLLIES recording session? Or was it last week?

If you're downloading NT Follies, it's also a very excellent copy. I was surprised, I thought it would be someone in a dark movie theater recording it on a videocam. But it's good.

Now, Marcia Gay Harden (if she can sing) would be a Rose worthy of Gypsy coming back to Broadway for. Hell, even if she can't sing, she'd act the fuck out of that show.

Follies recording session was this past Friday/Saturday, after closing night last Wednesday.

a lot of Alan Cumming's appeal was him being this hot super sexual blend of Puck and Dionysus, but now he's aged a lot and had to paint abs onto his wrinkly body in the last cabaret revival.

What label is releasing the FOLLIES NT recording? Will it be released first as a download?

I don't know r318, but I hope to hell it's not CAPITOL!

[quote]but I hope to hell it's not CAPITOL!

Or Tring International

PBS is running Alan Cummings cabaret show and it's pretty fabulous.

DL fave and gay legend Ashley Day is in New York. Both he and the lover are VERY quiet on social media. Because you know if you post every mundane moment of your life except the most important thing, nobody notices

They're probably quiet on social media because they're so busy fucking.

Ashley got a New York haircut! Other than that he's been pretty quiet. And I think Robbie's Frankenstein thing closed so they'll have plenty of time to snuggle.

I wonder how soon they’ll announce their marriage plans so Ashley can work over here?

Did the Dolly revival have a smaller orchestra than the original (or revivals?) It sounded a bit lacking at times when I saw the show in the autumn. Also, I wonder if they'll reduce the orchestra further with Bernadette's run. Unfortunately, they're the first to get cut...

Maybe Ashley is performing the peter Allen song dance routine from “All that Jazz” for Robbie right now

Ashley *IS* Ann Reinking

I'm sure he's practicing some of Ann signature moves on Robbie's dick even as we speak.

"Take a look at me NOW!"

"Why, sweet Robbie, my sweet Robbie!"

The best Dolly was Martha Raye. "There's nothing in this purse but a mirror and a dildo!"

Tickets for Bernie Levi are starting @ $39 but I guess that's pretty much to be expected.

For the poster upthread, I don’t believe Ashley and Robbie will be announcing a marriage anytime soon considering they don’t publicly acknowledge their relationship, and I don’t believe his straight divorce has even been finalized yet.

What would Ashley put on his green card application?

“ In US to suck straight, still married, ex-Utah dick”

I’m sure homeland security has a file for such applications

Uh ... that's complete bs that they don't publicly announce their relationship. Lots of past IG evidence of it. Ashley "my man" etc.

Just because they haven't told YOU personally doesn't mean they aren't open about it.

The next time Robbie does something that makes him famous enough for a People Magazine article, you'll see it mentioned there. PS: Why do you care so much?

R(332) Robbie just had a FULL article about him in the New York Times where he discussed everything BUT his personal life, so shut the fuck up about him talking to People.

Ashley referring to Robbie as his man was a post he himself later deleted.

Maybe Ash was just rushing things? Sometimes you have to tell people that they’re not your boyfriend

Why don't you just create a thread for these fuckwits instead of constantly and needlessly bringing them up here?

Unless they have sizemeat, let's not mention either of them again....

Who has the biggest penis on Broadway?

Well, he does have one of the biggest holes.

Biggest penises on Broadway - or the BBDC (Broadway Big Dick Club) used to be a regular topic here. The ones I cam remember are David Cromer, Brian D’Arcy James, Tyler Haines, Norm Lewis, Howard McGillin - that’s all I remember.

R309 I don't think it helps to cast aspersions on Cummng's self-description as bisexual. That he is married to a man doesn't foreclose that he experiences (or can experience or has experienced) attractions to women. Unless you simply refuse to believe that there can be bisexual people in the world, the fact that he is coupled with a man need not contradict his bisexual orientation. What would you have him do-fuck a woman once or twice a year to keep his "Bi Card" current? Part of biphobia is the assumption that bisexual people are always on the prowl for multiple partners. (For all I know, he may be, but that's not the point--I leave such things to Louisa May Alcott.) Give a bi a break!

I would totally sit on Cromer's cock.

Except in Cumming's case, he's a flaming homosexual who basically spread his brand of STDs all over Manhattan and even parts of Queens during the initial run of Mendes' Cabaret. The stories were legend. And involved nothing with a vagina.

[QUOTE] I don't think it helps to cast aspersions on Cummng's self-description as bisexual

By saying that in response to R309, aren't you casting aspersions on Mientus' self-description of bisexual? Yes, one could argue R309 was attempting to be snarky - but you'd only see that if you didn't believe Mientus when he says he's bi.

[QUOTE]And involved nothing with a vagina.

And how do you know that, exactly? Were you with him 24/7? And why does it even matter so much to you, that you need to try and declare he's lying about his own sexual identity, with some stories you heard about his sex life?

Speaking of Ashley, how did we miss his New Year's tweet?

[quote]I can’t choose 9 pictures to sum up the whole of 2017. But there’s one person who made my year. 2017 year of the Dude. HNY Twitter!

R344 I don't know much about Mientus, other than what I read on here, so I agree with your point--as Pope Franny-and-Zooey said (kinda), "If he says he is bi, who I am to judge?"

Year of the dude?

What is this eighth grade?

Ashley's later-deleted Instagram post, on the occasion of Robbie opening in "Brigadoon," was "Toasting my dude," with a picture of him raising a glass.

I am officially sick of the Ashley/Robbie troll.

At what point did DELILAH become THE VAMP?

r350 Gwyneth Paltrow IS Delilah!

The Ashley / Robbie troll is amazing because he updates us on their every move

And that benefits us how, exactly, r352? (ie, The Ashley/Robbie Troll).

[quote]Unless you simply refuse to believe that there can be bisexual people in the world,

I do because there aren’t

Charlie could get away with saying "not bloody lightly" to the Nazis in [italic]Bedknobs and Broomsticks[/italic], which did not cost them a G rating nor the equivalent U rating in the UK.

R350, that's from the show's first stop, Chicago. There is ad/poster art available from DC, the second stop, that still says "Delilah," too, so presumably the name change was made for New York.

[quote] Except in Cumming's case, he's a flaming homosexual who basically spread his brand of STDs all over Manhattan and even parts of Queens during the initial run of Mendes' Cabaret. The stories were legend. And involved nothing with a vagina.

How do you think he got his name?

[quote] Except in Cumming's case, he's a flaming homosexual who basically spread his brand of STDs all over Manhattan and even parts of Queens during the initial run of Mendes' Cabaret. The stories were legend. And involved nothing with a vagina.

How do you think he got his name?

Well, I knew it wasn't San Francisco r356. Unlike SOME people I know that San Francisco doesn't have a Shubert Theatre.

I think it would be possible to have a theatre thread that only has these five topics:

Follies

Ashley and Robbie and their relationship that is only talked about on DL

Revivals of musicals that will never happen with stars that are unsuited for them

Times articles that aren’t being published

Forgotten musicals that NOBODY cares about except the two posters that fight over their forgotten memories and obscured facts.

Two words r360.............................

Ankles......Aweigh

Noah Galvin is going to do the tour of DEH and then come back to Broadway as soon as Taylor's contract is up.

That was the plan unless he fucked it up, r363, and he didn't ... watch your Grindrs as he tours the country!

"The Utter Glory of Morrissey Hall"!

SARAVA!

Didn't you love the TV commercial?

Is There Life After High School?

Is There Life After Sarava?

Tiler Peck posted about her difficult year on Instagram and praised her family for their support. This whole thing must have been horrific for her and I'm guessing she was blindsided. Robbie at least seems sensitive about the situation but Ashley's posts are truly insufferable. It's not all about you and your man, bitch. There's another party involved and that person is hurtin'. For that alone, I loathe Ashley Day.

Gee, thanks for that update, r376. Since you loathe him, you don't need to keep talking about him all the time.

If Tiler Peck had been able to satisfy her man, she wouldn't have lost him. Girl doesn't know shit about pleasing a fella, and that's her own stupid Mormon self's fault.

Tiler Peck's Unfavorite Year!

The Miracle Worker....the Musical!

Yours, Anne (The Anne Frank Musical)

I'm not a Jew, I'm not a Jew, like in a zoo.

Terri Schiavo : The Musical

Are you serious, r385 - is that one of the real lyrics?

I saw a really awful musical version of "Portrait of Jenny" that was written by that same woman who wrote Yours, Anne. Brent Barrett and Donna Bullock were in it, and it stank to high heaven.

If Tiler Peck married John Beck, she'd be Tiler Peck Beck.

Tillar Peck must have known she married a gay man. Who marries their ballet dancing partner?

It’s like she was blinded by the “Look the other way Liza Minnelli” sequins.

Also people are quoting bible quotes in the comment section. I’m sure her people feel if Robbie returned to her, then God would forgive the months of semen swallowing.

Double tchins of the legitimate stage.

"Breakfast at Tiffany's"!

Sally really has a musical ear.

Weird. That lyric, "Good girls go to heaven/But bad girls go everywhere" is also the hook to a Jim Steinman song. Is that an expression or did Steinman (who first set out to be a musical writer) rip it off?

[quote] Are you serious, [R385] - is that one of the real lyrics?

Yep. It's been a long time since I've listened to the cast album, but it is something like "I'm not a Jew, like an animal in the zoo." But the lyricist does rhyme Jew and zoo.

Ashley just tweeted about loving his first workout at a Chelsea gym, then deleted it. Must have been a tough workout

Vernon Duke and Sammy Cahn got there before either Steinman OR Merrill, r395

...at 21'09"

R397 If any of us gave a shit about his tweets, we'd follow him on Twitter.

It's extraordinarily hypocritical that you also posted

[QUOTE]The Ashley / Robbie troll is amazing because he updates us on their every move

We do become what we hate, I guess

I don’t Follow on him twitter, I was just glancing at his tweets only to see something I just read immediately deleted. I found it funny considering he’s a DL fave for deleting his “toast dude” comment.

He’s a deleted and sexual turner

Sure, and you were just browsing the internet when all that porn just popped up out of nowhere.

And I was eating a side salad when 2 triple roast beef sandwiches appeared in my mouth

Followed by a box of Entenmann's Donuts.

I never miss a Lovelady Powell musical!

So who is playing all the characters in the Lifetime/Hallmark movie

“Ballet for 3”

Tillar Peck........ Robbie Fairchild.... Ashley Day.....

Who will play the small but pivatal role of Max Von Essen?

Martha Stewart will play herself.

Frankie James Grande * IS * Ashley Day!

I don't know if Mae West came up with it, but she was famous for saying it and she predated both Breakfast at Tiffany's and Jim Steinman.

No r409....no. You do NOT belong here. Go away.

Honest question:

I don't know if there was ever really a NY Times expose in the works, but how do you all suppose there hasn't been a single accusation, by either a man or a woman, made against a Broadway level director, choreographer or actor in recent weeks, when you all know the sexual harassment exists BIG TIME?

Is Broadway immune to accusations?

R413: guessing the NYT story was in the works and got buried.

Broadway has money, off-broadway does not.

The Public did host a public forum, letting participants talk about whatever was on their mind related to sexual harassment. No names were named, but everybody had a story.

Gawd I wish I DIDN'T r414!!!

Megan exudes such absolute charm in this number.

[quote]I don't know if there was ever really a NY Times expose in the works, but how do you all suppose there hasn't been a single accusation, by either a man or a woman, made against a Broadway level director, choreographer or actor in recent weeks, when you all know the sexual harassment exists BIG TIME?

Maybe actors on the Rialto know it’s not really a big thing if someone thinks you’re attractive enough to hit on? Actors crave any kind of attention.

I think Tony Rapp’s story about Spacey qualifies as a major story directly related to Broadway, no? You’d have to have a really sordid tale to top that one.

I loved that, R417. Do we think Megan would be a good Dolly?

I think she'd be one for the ages r419.

Baz Bamigboye just tweeted that Cuba Gooding Jr will play Billy Flynn in the London revival of Chicago starting on March 26th.

Pllease tell me that passion cast is not real. Philippa soo and steve passgas do not have it. Boooooring. I like laura benanti but i don't know about fosca for her. She'd be better for Clara. She should sing that well.

Funnily enough as much as we bash them, Ashley or Robbie would be good in Chicago

r387

I think the author of those crap shows is Enid Futterman, the least talented woman on the face of the earth.

R424, Fuck, I would deny her the rights to anything based on her name alone.

My London crew friend told me Sheridan Smith is playing Roxy in the Chicago revival.

Sheridan Smith has the appeal of wax paper. They should get Martine McCutcheon just so she can sit in front of Jonathan Pryce again at the Oliviers and win while he is in camera frowning

I heard that the Broadway expose was canned due to lack of cooperation from victims, but the targets were to be McAnuff, Trujillo, Ashford, Mitchell, and maybe others. But they are indeed preparing something that drills deeper into the James Levine story.

Martine would make a better Velma.

It’s almost time for Bernadette to open in Dolly!!

I hear Latti PuLone is currently at the stage door performing a Viking curse on the theatre

Johnny Belinda - The Musical. Saw it in Ottawa years ago. Surprisingly good.

They offered me the role first, of course. But when they said "No songs" I said "No way... fuckheads!"

DL fave Max Von Essen had a birthday celebration last night. Bad news is 2/3rds of guests woke up this morning with food poisoning

Food poisoning from semen??

I don’t know but it’s bad and lots of people are complaining that it’s both ends

Did this occur in a restaurant or was it a homemade affair?

It wasn’t good poisoning. One of the guests had the norovirus and was feverish. You do the math

It wasn’t food poisoning. The guests gathered around a piano and heard a preview of Laura Linney singing “Rose’s Turn”

You do the math

It wasn’t food poisoning. The guests gathered around the projectors and watched slides from Robbie and Ashley’s last vacation.

You do the math.

Ok, I'm just not doing the fucking math.

It wasn’t food poisoning. Ricky Martin stopped over and showed 3 episodes of The Assassination of Versace

You do the math

It wasn’t food poisoning. Robert Fairchild read the other thread about Ashley Day being listed as a single bachelor by Attitude magazine and created a scene.

You do the math.

[quote]It’s almost time for Bernadette to open in Dolly!!

I hope the producers go after Cyndi Lauper. She would be amazing, sing the shit out of the score and is funny. I bet she would pull a Reba and bring the crowds in again.

Nobody but Mamie Eisenhower could rock those bangs like Jane Wyman!

And so it begins. The ruining of great art in the name of social justice.

[quote]Opera 'Carmen' altered in anti-violence protest

I was just rewatching National Theatre's Follies, and I am so impressed by Josephine Barstow who plays Heidi. I've always thought "One More Kiss" was a weak point in the show, just some screeching soprano who needed to hurry up and get us back into the show. But I've grown to love this woman's performance. She really looks like she realizes this is the end for her. And she looks sweet and frail and feisty.

Why we don't just strip Caravaggio paintings from museum walls (he was a murderer, after all), eliminate Wagner from opera houses (that bothersome anti-Semitic poster-boy-for-the-Nazis thing), burn every frame of Woody Allen movies, ban HUCKLEBERRY FINN from ...oh, they have? never mind.....

Also burn F. Scott Fitzgerald's books as well r451.

As long as we are book burning, I suggest “Patti LuPone, a Memoir”

Agree with r450. "One More Kiss" is generally a song/scene I tune out, but Barstow and her younger self made it so lovely and moving. It was the part of the NT production I liked best.

[quote]Biggest penises on Broadway - or the BBDC (Broadway Big Dick Club) used to be a regular topic here. The ones I cam remember are David Cromer, Brian D’Arcy James, Tyler Haines, Norm Lewis, Howard McGillin - that’s all I remember.

Michael Berresse, 8-9 cut, and knows how to use it. Can be an angry fuck, or a purring, "beg me for more" top. Very vocal. Verse for the right guy, though I think he's "married" married now

I'll take the angry fuck. Thanks.

[quote]Ashley or Robbie would be good in Chicago

As Velma or Roxy?

Just started reading Must Close On Saturday, a recently published book about West End flop musicals. It’s great. And not as smart assy as Not Since Carrie.

Is it worth reading, R458? I just looked on apple books, and the ebook is $26! I've got a list of unread books on my iPad, but something like that would jump to the top of the list if it's worth reading. And worth $26.

Too bad CATS just closed. Ashley would have made a fab catty feline.

The purpose of art is to DRAW YOU OUT from your own life and enter into another world, another consciousness, in order to experience the endless variety of human experience, good, bad or indifferent. The painter, the composer, the writer, etc go through the AGONY of committing their vision to manuscript or canvas or a blank piece of paper---the least you can do is respect it. But we live in a world of envious pygmies who are all too eager NOT to stand on the shoulders of giants and learn something, but to cut them down to size. We’ve entered an Orwellian era where expression of personal experience will have to meet a criteria of endless checkboxes and approvals before it's "fit" for consumption. The fascistic narcissism of it all is grotesque and beyond terrifying.

[QUOTE]The fascistic narcissism of it all is grotesque and beyond terrifying.

Are you talking about your post?

Yes, R459, it’s worth the $26. It’s a very thorough look at West End musical flops over the years.

[quote]It’s a very thorough look at West End musical flops over the years.

Just for fun, can you name two or three?

Was Spend! Spend! Spend! a flop? I think it was about a woman who won the lottery?

R450 - I found Rosalind Elias' performance in the Bernie revival quite moving.

I guess they couldn't write a book about hit West End musicals sine that wouldn't be very long is they didn't include G&S, Oliver, Irma La Douce, the two big Boubil/Schonberg shows, the 2 Anthony Newley shows with great scores, Lion King, Billy Elliot, Me and My Girl, several of Lloyd Webber's which get revived or are still running, and what else? Charlie Girl? Pickwick? Does anyone do Salad Days anymore?

R464, Spend! Spend! Spend! was a moderate success, not a flop.

Flops detailed in Must Close Saturday include Isabel’s a Jezebel, I and Albert, Thomas and the King (music by John Williams), Mardi Gras, Liza of Lambeth, Bar Mitzvah Boy, Marilyn!, Jean Seberg (music by Marvin Hamlisch), Budgie, Bernadette, Matador, Which Witch?, A Saint She Ain’t and my personal favorite The Fields of Ambrosia. I was in the opening night audience along with the staff from the Dress Circle shop and we laughed ourselves silly at its awfulness.

r465 This One More Kiss works so well because Rosalind Elias, a mezzo, is paired with a soprano Young Heidi. The voices blend beautifully. But oddly, Elias' voice is in such great shape (she was 82!) that the number misses that last little measure of pathos. Barstow's Heidi, on the other hand, has to work hard at it and succeeds. We applaud her Heidi (and Barstow herself) not just for what she is but also for what she must have been.

Fun facts. In the mid-eighties, Barstow sang the Strauss Salome and did the Dance of the Seven Veils down to a g-string. Gotta love her. And Elias was the singer Kathleen Battle yelled at that, as the final straw, got Battle fired from the Met.

[quote]I found Rosalind Elias' performance in the Bernie revival quite moving.

Technically, it's a very nice performance. But it's staged, as many American shows are today, with no reality. Hildegaarde, the opera singer, screeching an overly dramatic song.

Have you seen Barstow's performance? I think it works because it's so well staged. This frail lady wanders onstage. My first thought was that this lady doesn't even look like an opera singer. She looks like the woman in the box office selling the tickets. She begins the song quietly and her face becomes very painful. As her ghost joins her, she wanders off to pick up a bouquet of flowers. I think what I love so much about this performance is how restrained it is. It doesn't remind me of the cliched screeching soprano. I really believe this woman has wandered off in a dilapidated theater and is sadly reliving her glory days for the last time.

Hasn't Tyler Hanes been in a committed LTR with Van Hansis since college? How would anyone know that Tyler is hung?

London ballet dancer and West End performer Wayne Sleep flashes his castmates on Celebrity Big Brother. Although, I don't know why he's flashing the women because he's gay. Fun fact, he was the dancer that Diana arranged to dance with at Covent Garden that enraged Prince Charles who thought it was inappropriate for royalty to be performing on the stage.

R471, I have always liked Wayne Sleep, even though he has a "look at me!!!" streak a mile wide. He is a surprisingly good singer. I am surprised he didn't do more musicals. He was certainly the best "Dance" in Song and Dance.

[quote] I am surprised he didn't do more musicals.

I think because he's so short he had trouble getting cast. He's only something like 5'2"

I think that's the wrong Tyler. It's the Tyler who once had sticky fingers that is super-hung. That's Tyler Maynard, isn't it?

My name's Josephine.......

Read r55 that sounds like a good narrative for this pic

Didn't Saint Sondheim absolutely adore "Spend, Spend, Spend"? I seem to remember a lot of publicity for the show because of his enthusiasm.

Wayne Sleep was the original Mr. Mistoffelees.

Wasn't that musical about the pig, "Betty Blue Eyes" a huge flop? Based on a Michael Palin/Maggie Smith film, no?

[quote]Wasn't that musical about the pig, "Betty Blue Eyes" a huge flop?

I saw that in London. It ran for 6 months, a cast album was produced and it was nominated for Olivier awards. So it wasn't a "huge" flop. Just not popular.

Betty Blue Eyes is in the book, too.

I saw Spend, Spend, Spend. Or at least the first act. It was a uniquely British musical, in subject matter, style and craft. Dreadful, but the audience I saw it with enjoyed it a great deal.

[quote]Betty Blue Eyes is in the book, too.

What did they say about it? I thought it was a fun, but flawed, musical.

R481, I haven’t read the book (just read the blurb on Amazon), so I don’t know. I've heard BBE was well written and produced, but it never struck me as being a good idea for a musical.

Also in the BBDC club, Jefferson Mays and Christian Borle.

I asked someone about "Spend Spend Spend" when I was heading to London. They said it was like "Blood Brothers," a musical I particularly loathed, so I hadn't planned to see it. But when another show was unavailable, my friend and I ended up at "Spend Spend Spend." We loved it.

Cynthia Erivo wants a voodoo curse on Donald Trump.

Someone should let her know Andy Mientus cast a spell on election night and that didn't help

R469 - that sounds amazing. No, I didn't get to see the NT Follies. Wish I could have, but it wasn't being screened anywhere near me.

It actually sounds a bit dreary and too literal but there are some who seem to like theatre like that so they can understand it

r487, are you good with your computer? There are ways of seeing it on your computer.

r469 Sometimes the lady selling tickets in the box office is a STAR!

LOL, r490, maybe a star in her own mind. By the way, how does that work. If someone comes late, does she stop the show and go sell them a ticket?

Finally saw Dolly. It looks like summer stock on a big budget...

How much will the box office drop when Bernadette takes over?

[quote]How much will the box office drop when Bernadette takes over?

Depends if she has vocal problems. Her voice is shot, so I'm wondering if she's going to sit out matinees or take extended time off.

[quote] Also in the BBDC club, Jefferson Mays and Christian Borle.

Jefferson Mays could have a 12 incher and it wouldn't matter. Ugliest man on Broadway ever.

Music Theatre Wichita did a production of Betty Blue Eyes a couple of years ago.Cute show. Peter Filicia was there the same night and I know he wrote a column on the show.

They're both straight. Those 'rumors' are all guesses.

Dolly isn't a tough sing. She's in about 60% of the show, so there are plenty of moments for Bernie to relax. It's a role for a star, but it's not like Mama Rose or Evita or even Sally in Follies. I'd assume Sally was much more taxing both emotionally and vocally than Dolly will be for her.

Isn't he problem with Betty Blue Eyes that the title character is eaten at the end, or is that just the film?

R484 I also saw SPEND,SPEND,SPEND and liked it. It WAS very British but I remember really liking Rachel Leskovac who played Young Viv. the main reason I went was to see Barbara Dickson only to arrive at the theatre to find she was out. The cast recording was really difficult to find but has been reissued, I think.

The Broadway Big Dick Club (BBDC)

Michael Berresse

Christian Borle

David Cromer

Brian D'Arcy James

Colin Donnell

Norm Lewis

Jefferson Mayes

Tyler Maynard

Howard McGillin

How would anyone know about Colin Donnell?

Don't people share dressing rooms?

Dressing roommates don't see each other's erect penises.

[quote] They're both straight. Those 'rumors' are all guesses.

No one is saying the BBDC is only comprised of gay men.

any of you Brits remember the great Stephanie Lawrence?

[quote]any of you Brits remember the great Stephanie Lawrence?

I'm not a Brit, but I saw her on Broadway in Blood Brothers. Had a wonderful singing voice.

Just catching up with the NT Angels In America. Christ, is it crappy. I don’t know if I’m even going to bother watching Perestroik. Is it like Gypsy where it worked in the theatre but not on TV? Garfield is shockingly bad. And Denise Gough, whom I loved in People, Places & Things, is so leaden and wrong. Nathan Lane at least understands the tone.

That story about the new CARMEN production is horrifying. The whole point of the opera is that she is a sexually liberated, free spirited woman who's killed by one of her ex-lovers because he's an emotionally retarded man-boy who went nuts when she left him. There is no need to change the ending to "modernize" the story, and in fact it's counterproductive to do so.

On another subject, and for whatever it's worth, the producer-star-box office staff of PERFECT CRIME knows that everyone in the theater world makes fun of her. I once heard her say so with my own ears.

r511 I think people make fun of her rather rather lovingly, and I have never heard anyone be nasty about her. It is an easy story to crack a joke about, and she clearly realizes she's in a rather bizarre situation. And yet, she's made quite a run of keeping the show going.

[quote]The whole point of the opera is that she is a sexually liberated, free spirited woman who's killed by one of her ex-lovers because he's an emotionally retarded man-boy who went nuts when she left him.

Bullshit. She finds a weak man and uses him to commit suicide. She totally manipulated him into stabbing her. She picks him out of the crowd of soldiers, gets him to help her escape imprisonment, gets him put in prison and when he gets out and comes to see her, she gets him to leave the army, dump the sweet young thing that’s in love with him, and join the gypsies. Then she dumps him for the Matador. In the final scene, she even tells Don José “have you come to kill me? and “either stab me or let me pass”. She is an evil person who destroys an innocent man in her quest to end her own life.

[quote]There is no need to change the ending to "modernize" the story, and in fact it's counterproductive to do so.

This, however, I completely agree with.

Why wasn’t Half A Sixpence aired on BBC4 over the holidays like it was supposed to? Did Cameron get it pulled for some reason?

It was pulled because of Charlie Stemp’s wild sexual adventures. Too much holiday stimulation.

Saw "Farinelli & the King" today. It's slow in spots (basically because there isn't much of a plot) but overall it's pretty entertaining. Mark Rylance is quite good as the king but even more than that, I was very impressed with his modesty: at curtain, he initially did not make himself front and center, instead taking his bow at the very end of the row of actors. It wasn't until they filed off and then returned for a second bow that he moved to the center, but not alone as he brings the actress who plays the queen with him. (He's also not listed above the title; his name is listed alphabetically in the Playbill along with everybody else.)

The production is gorgeous by the way; I imagine it will be nominated for several design awards at the Tonys.

[quote] The Broadway Big Dick Club (BBDC)

Ahem.

[quote]Finally saw Dolly. It looks like summer stock on a big budget...

Well that's a pile of horseshit.

Agreed, R518. Idiotic comment, R517.

Not idiotic at all. I recall several people weighing in on Roger Bart’s big dick. He’s fond of glory hole blowjobs, apparently.

Tom Wopat was another big Broadway dick, and he loved to tickel Chorus throats, make and female, with it.

[quote] Just catching up with the NT Angels In America. Christ, is it crappy. I don’t know if I’m even going to bother watching Perestroik. Is it like Gypsy where it worked in the theatre but not on TV? Garfield is shockingly bad. And Denise Gough, whom I loved in People, Places & Things, is so leaden and wrong. Nathan Lane at least understands the tone.

Perestroika is better in the sense that the director finally realizes how to utilize the set and space better and she seems a bit more in command of the show. Also, some of the actors who were fairly putrid in part 1 actually improve somewhat (Tovey and the actor who plays Louis). Gough, however, does not. She stinks throughout. And, if for no other reason, you need to watch Garfield be even worse here than he was in Pt 1. You can't imagine it's possible, but he does it.

IIRC, someone posted once that Michael Cerveris should also be in the BBDC. And I recall reading here many times about Roger Bart's sizable manhood.

Sorry, the comment I meant to refer to as idiotic was the one that the Broadway DOLLY! "looks like summer stock on a big budget." I have no knowledge of the size of Roger Bart's penis, so I wouldn't comment on a comment about that.

While I wouldn't go as far as calling it Summer Stock (or what I'd imagine Summer Stock to look like since I've never seen it), I will say that the sets of Dolly looked really cheap, especially for the budget. I thought the costumes were wonderful and looked well put together but the sets were fairly appalling.

R525 - I actually agree. I know that this was intentionally the "old fashioned" style of the production, but the sets did -- at times -- feel kind of cheap. At least for this "big event" revival.

[QUOTE]are you good with your computer? There are ways of seeing it (NT Follies)on your computer.

I'm alright, R489. So, what are we talking about here, Tumblr, torrents...?

The other person who notably improved in part two was Susan Brown. I thought she was dreadful in part one, but she did a really nice just with Ethel’s last scene with Roy, and with Hannah.

I thought James McArdle was pretty bad in both parts. Garfield was better in part one and just awful in part two.

[quote] The other person who notably improved in part two was Susan Brown.

She's been pooping up in a ton of movies lately. I don't ever remember seeing her before AiA and now I feel like I see her in everything.

d'oh! Popping, not pooping!

Do you pop out at parties? Are you unpoopular?

Dead Lord, those Dolly costumes were HID-E-OUS. Esp in the dress shop scene. Yikes.

You were right the first time, r529. Dear Susan Brown poops up just about every role she plays.

What a mess.

Yes r526, it's on torrents and imo well worth getting. I'm too young to have seen the original, but I think this production is better than any of the others I've seen. It's well cast (I have a bit of a problem with Imelda) and the production values are very nice. It's staged on a revolving stage so there's much fluidity and you get the sense that the participants are wandering around the theater.

I think the problem with the Hello Dolly design is Jerry Zaks. If you compare Santo' s costumes for Hello Dolly to those for Ragtime, you can see that the old-fashioned MUSICAL COMEDY!!!! style and color pallet is not what he normally does. However, it is very reminiscent of Guys and Dolls. That said, there are some really bad costume choices.

The sets aren't as bad. They are meant to evoke early 1900s theater. The use of painted backdrops does not bother me at all.

That production of Follies was best seen live. I saw it from the front row of the Royal Circle at the Olivier and just watching those follow spots follow Tracie Bennett during “I’m Still Here” was worth the ticket price.

R500 the pig lives in the musical

r535, do you think that is as close to what we would have seen if Judy Garland had performed that song?

I'm sure it was r535, but having seen it yesterday on screen I'm most grateful to have what I think is a fantastic filmed/taped record of it. Unfortunately I can't replicate the screen size or sound system at home so further viewings won't have the same impact.

Ashley reads the New York Post? Is he a deplorable?

Christ, Theater Queens are insufferable. Dolly's sets were gorgeous and got applause through out. Hell, the train to Yonkers alone was worth the price of admission. Even the painted flats were great instead the now standard cheap projections on a big TV screen. The constant bitching makes me question whether some here actually see the shows or just judge from a photo or cell phone bootleg.

R540, I think there may be a few reasons for the bitching about the sets. First, the jewel tone color palette is really, really dated. It may have been an homage to the original designs, but it doesn't work in 2017. It does give the impression that one is looking at a touring production.

Second, in the world for falling chandeliers, helicopters on stage, etc., people have higher expectations of sets. Even straight plays have to have a coup de theatre: rotating hotel room, house that flies to the rafters, etc. We had this problem with Jerome Robbin's Broadway. The majority of the costumes are replicas of the originals, but in many cases the sets had to be punched up because audiences would not tolerate the originals.

Lastly, a lot of the drops were done digitally. They are dull and do not have the depth or life of a hand painted drop. This adds to the impression that they are "cheap". Actually, I am sure they cost a fortune. It would have been prohibitively expensive to have them hand painted.

PS, look at the number of people who praised the set for The Roundabout "She Loves Me". It was a hideous set, but because it moved and "did" things, everyone thought it was great.

[quote] That story about the new CARMEN production is horrifying. The whole point of the opera is that she is a sexually liberated, free spirited woman who's killed by one of her ex-lovers because he's an emotionally retarded man-boy who went nuts when she left him.

It's the same basic concept as [italic]Looking for Mr. Goodbar[/italic].

Looking for Mr. Goodbar- the Musical! Starring Sutton Foster!

Actually, she might be good in the role, and I am sure that there are many people who would pay to see her killed every night.

Midler gets a huge laugh when she comes down the stairs and says "I hope you like red, you're going to see a lot of it!"

[quote]PS, look at the number of people who praised the set for The Roundabout "She Loves Me". It was a hideous set, but because it moved and "did" things, everyone thought it was great.

Glad I don't know you.

R544-Bobby Cannavale, for instance.

[quote] The constant bitching makes me question whether some here actually see the shows or just judge from a photo or cell phone bootleg.

Let me clarify it for you, toots. I paid $225 for a house seat and got an eyeful of that Walmart set and wondered where the fuck all the money went. (And also wondered why I was spending so much money to see what looked like a touring production.) The costumes may have looked garish, but cheap they were not.

If I was someone who'd shelled out the Premium seats price, I would have rioted.

But hey, if you like tacky and bargain basement, then I guess you'll never be disappointed.

Has anyone seen Lithgow's Stories by Heart?

[quote]Why wasn’t Half A Sixpence aired on BBC4 over the holidays like it was supposed to?

Maybe the transmitter went flash, bang, wallop!

[quote]But hey, if you like tacky and bargain basement, then I guess you'll never be disappointed.

I prefer going to vintage clothing shops for things that actually have lasting value, look good on me, and fit.

R537, yeah, I do, although Bennett was in no way recreating her End of the Rainbow performance.

Santo was out of his "tasteful" comfort zone on Dolly and the costumes show it. He pushed too hard to create imitations of Freddy Wittop's effortless original designs. And his sets, for my money, are not in the same style as his costumes, and that's the problem.

Before the fuss over his show Hansen, who has had Ben Platt? Is he worth the lust?

Who the fuck is lusting after Ben Platt? And in what tragic accident did they lose all their senses?

[quote]Let me clarify it for you, toots. I paid $225 for a house seat

No wonder you were by yourself.

I love the sets and costumes for Dolly. I don't think Santo was out of his element at all. And the costumes barely even nod to Freddy Wittop's originals. Not even Bette's red dress resembles anything like what Wittop did with it.

It will be interesting to see if Bernadette gets the same red dress, or id they design something a little more form-fitting (a la, in fact, the Wittop original) for her.

[quote] No wonder you were by yourself.

I actually wasn't, but you tried it. It didn't work, but you tried it.

Unnecessary queen bitch R547 trying to justify herself.

[quote] Unnecessary queen bitch [R547] trying to justify herself.

As opposed to the fat virgin in the corner fapping to the idea of a naked Ben Platt.

I don’t think MR Day is a deplorable. He was probably looking for press about him and Robbie in page 6

Anyone who thinks Ben Platt is good looking needs their eyes checked.

[quote]the idea of a naked Ben Platt

That image is better than ipecac for inducing vomiting!

R508 Not a Brit but remember Stephanie Lawrence fondly. Why?

So few people do except for UK folk, so when the posts turned away from Follies and to other Brit shows, I figured some may post some memories of her. She was (as they say in Guys & Dolls) a "right broad".

Stephanie Lawrence, eying the booze cart in the corner.

r556, Bette's Dolly dress is very form-fitting.

You just don't appreciate the form it's fitting.

[quote]Surely, they could have had a male performer come on and sing something from POTO.

Poto is the Spanish word for butt.

Beyond the hideous costumes, who do we blame for the casting of the queeny Barnaby, the screechy Ermengarde and that charmless fat frau of a Minnie Fay? As for the train...well...it rather anticlimacticaly tracked from stage left to stage right. Very....quaint.

name one Barnaby ever who wasn't queeny....from this one to Cory English to Danny Lockin it's a queen role.

r568 Beanie may be fat, but she's far from charmless.

She was quite lovely in LADY BIRD. I was expecting someone annoying like her brother but she was great.

Well, as of tonight, Beanie is gone, so we can stop worrying about her. Bernadette's new Minnie Fay is Molly Griggs. I know which part of her rather brief resume will attract attention on here:

[quote]Off-Broadway: Linda (Manhattan Theatre Club), Ultimate Beauty Bible (Page 73). Upcoming television: “Succession” (HBO). Additionally, Griggs originated” the university-touring Jane Doe, a one-woman show reflecting on rape culture in our communities. BFA: Carnegie Mellon University.

Well, they certainly didn't cast to Beanie's "type" for the new Minnie Fay

Charlie Stemp's first meeting with Victor Garber went well

Well you bitches that said Bette would never deliver the whole year, would miss a lot, would get tired all owe her a giant apology. She missed maybe one perf and by all accounts delivered like a pro every time

r575 made me snort out my coffee.

[quote]Well you bitches that said Bette would never deliver the whole year, would miss a lot, would get tired all owe her a giant apology. She missed maybe one perf and by all accounts delivered like a pro every time

It was one person who said that. The same one who lies about everything.

According to those who were there, no curtain speeches at either of Sunday's HELLO, DOLLY! performances.

And someone posted on Broadwayworld, regarding Jerry Herman, 'his days of traveling and clarity are over.'

If so, that is very sad.

Today is the 54th anniversary of the first New York preview of the original production (there were only 2 previews, can you imagine that today?)

You have to put all of the pre-Broadway performances into that mix r580.

[quote]And someone posted on Broadwayworld, regarding Jerry Herman, 'his days of traveling and clarity are over.'

Because someone on Broadwayworld would know all about that, right? If you had said they posted on All That Chat, I *might* be willing to believe it. But BWW? Not since all the savvy posters have died or quit posting.

[quote] And someone posted on Broadwayworld, regarding Jerry Herman, 'his days of traveling and clarity are over.'

What a sad state of affairs. They'll dim the lights for a month on the last day of his life.

Continue the party at this thread below. It wasn't created by the Poppins Loon.

What's behind the race to create dull theatre gossip thread titles? How about creating something totally out of the blue rather than rehashing conversations off the last thread?

Ask the Poppins Loon. He's the one who creates them.

R564 I knew Stephanie Lawrence mainly by reputation as a favorite Evita for many people (Hal Prince thought highly of her), STARLIGHT EXPRESS and all those budget studio recordings. I was disappointed when I read she was opening BLOOD BROTHERS here in the states until I saw the show in previews. I thought the show was problematic but her performance and voice blew me away. After seeing her, Paige and many other West End stars live over the years, I realized you can’t really judge a voice by the way it’s recorded. I never expected such a big sound from someone who sounded so MOR and pop (boring)on recordings. I picked up the badly overdubbed cast recording of B.B. expecting to hear the voice I heard in the theatre reduced to a small, tiny sound. Very disappointing.

My personal experience with her was after a performance in London. I had a free night and decided to revisit BB. After the show ended up talking to Stephanie for quite a while and she and her boy friend ended up giving me ride back to my friend’s flat. She was incredibly nice, self deprecating, but very warm and apparently very charmed by me. Flash forward to receiving the news of her death which lead to many years of unanswered questions as to exactly what happened. I finally got a bit of information (the alcoholism, CATS accident etc) from a friend and former coworker .Not going into details but I suspect I met her just before things took a turn. Every once in while some of her British collegues mention her on Facebook with a lot of affection and with high regard to her talent. I recently connected with her former assistant but our interactions have been very superficial so far. She posts really nice memories which only confirms my impression my experience wasn’t a one off.

All the people who doubted Bette would last the year are the same people who keep pushing the NYTimes expose and the people who keep claiming it was never called Shuffling Along. People will make up anything no the internet.

Carmen Ruby Floyd is the new Dolly cover so they're definitely open to an African American in the title role. I think I'd rather see her than Bernie.

r590 I'd rather see Billy Porter. Hell, I'd rather see Beanie as Dolly than Bernie at this point.

What about Bernie Kopell?

r587, what was the Cats accident?

[quote]People will make up anything no the internet.

And everyone told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth prior to the invention of the internet.

So let me get this straight- Some dumb fuck started a thread when we had about 30 posts to go, and in their zeal to do so, stupidly named it the same thread number as this one. Then someone else started a new thread a few posts down while we STILL aren't finished with this one and people are posting in both of those.

R595 No, they created that other thread just after this thread had been created. But because this one came first, everyone ignored the other one. And now the OP of that thread is trying to revive their failed thread and make it the next one.

R596- Ah, I didn't notice the date of the OP's thread when I looked at the title, only that the last post had been maybe 15 min ago.

I just don't get the Black Friday-esque rush to create a new thread title. Just let it happen when it happens. We clearly have no urgent news to spread, and quite frankly, the one(s) who do that are usually the worst thread titles.

We need to call back the funny posters and let them create thread titles.

The Poppins Loon feel like it is the only one who can post a new thread.

That’s why the titles are such crap.

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