Broadway Musicals and Plays! Broadway and Beyond

#1

YouTube always blows our mind, so many shows we worked on or had friends involved with have ended up there. Back in the day, because of unions, shows were not allowed to be recorded except for one time with a camera locked at center for the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts. You had to have an appointment and a reason to visit. From high school on, used to head in regularly to watch and learn from the performances, it was magical. In those days, video cameras were still bulky and low def, yet somehow folks were able to sneak them in. No idea how since they were not discreet! But wanted to share a few I've found. This isn't meant at all to be bragging, just to show they mean so much to find them again.

This is a 2006 A Chorus Line that looks pro shot, maybe it was for a special, it doesn't explain the provenance.

Not the best quality but damn, it's Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou in Sweeney Todd!

Bernie Petie (our name for Bernadette Peters) took over from Bette in Hello Dolly, no idea how this got recorded so well.

One of our favorite dames, still miss her to pieces. We drank SO MUCH vodka together! Elaine Stritch At Liberty, recorded at the Old Vic for PBS. What was funny at Opening Night was we got toasted before and then, during the show, she got into how she had STOPPED DRINKING! We were pissed and told her so afterward

This is our FAVORITE version of Stritch's Ladies Who Lunch, we still want to jump and applaud after. Gosh. What a brilliant artist. And it's the question for Foggy... "Does anybody... still wear... a hat?"

Dang, this is Chess - Original Broadway Cast June 25, 1988 (Final Show). "One Night In Bangkok" is from this show.

Everybody knows Fiddler, but this is really rare, it's The World of Sholom Aleichem with Zero Mostel, Nancy Walker, Gertrude Berg, Charlotte Rae

Here's a mind blower for us, Chita and Liza in Kander & Ebb's The Rink. Worked for both girls, when Chita was here in Florida with Tommy Tune a few years back we had a wonderful reunion and time together. This was never a great show, but the girls worked the hell out of it. Jason Alexander, Scott Ellis and Rob Marshall were also in it. The backstage fun at this show was one of the very best.

This is incredible. This is the ORIGINAL CAST of Dreamgirls, somebody enhanced the video and sound. So many memories! Henry Kreiger was my mentor and I had several clients in the show on Broadway and the tour so must have seen it over a hundred times. The only show I've seen more is Chicago, had clients in it for over 15 years. Jennifer taught me that McDonald's had huge handle bags, never knew that! The amount she could eat between shows was revolutionary for me, an entire bucket of KFC and then another huge show a couple of hours later. We had the best time.

One play to toss in, in 1982 a young guy created a three act play and it broke so many rules and was a show we saw over and over. It was at the Little Theatre, which was renamed the Helen Hayes during the run. Matthew Broderick was in it and we started a life long friendship. The author and star? Harvey Fierstein. Just posted a month ago, here's the last 10 minutes of Torch Song Trilogy. (This isn't with Estelle Getty from Golden Girls who originated the role when first saw it, Chevi went in later.) Have begged Harvey to release the whole show.

Here's dear Angela Lansbury recording "Be Our Guest". Thanks for letting me share some of these with you!

#2

Just for fun, here's one of the pix with Tommy and Chita

(Foggy, the imgwidth tag isn't working when you get a moment)

: TommyChita.JPG (114.63 KiB) Viewed 3091 times

And La Rainbow xx

: Randy.JPG (54.7 KiB) Viewed 3091 times

Volkonski · #3

Watched about half of "The World of Sholom Aleichem". Very interesting. Several of the actors were just beginning to resume their careers following the anticommunist blacklists.

#4

Mentioned about Lincoln Center Library above... the vault is cracking slightly open!

Lincoln Center Theater to Stream Recordings of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, The Wolves & More
by Lindsey Sullivan • Mar 11, 2021

Theater enthusiasts will soon be able to view past Lincoln Center Theater shows from the comfort of home! As part of the LCT Spotlight Series of digital initiatives, Private Reels: From the LCT Archives will offer streamed recordings of LCT productions in their entirety, including Christopher Durang's Tony-winning play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Sarah DeLappe's The Wolves and more.

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, which played the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center prior to its Broadway transfer, will stream for free beginning on March 18. The show garnered Tony nominations for director Nicholas Martin as well as performers David Hyde Pierce, Kristine Nielsen, Billy Magnussen and Shalita Grant. In the comedy, Durang transports characters and themes from Chekhov's work to present day Bucks County, Pennsylvania where siblings receive a visit from their sister and her 20-something boy toy Spike.

In addition to the Lila Neugebauer-directed The Wolves, future streams will include Marco Ramirez's The Royale, directed by Tony winner Rachel Chavkin as well as Jackie Sibblies Drury's Marys Seacole, directed by LCT Resident Director Lileana Blain-Cruz. Air dates will be announced later.

Private Reels: From the LCT Archives is made possible in partnership with Actors’ Equity Association, Stage Directors & Choreographers Society, and United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829, IATSE.

https://www.broadway.com/buzz/200477/li ... lves-more/

Great seeing the unions coming together. https://www.lct.org/shows/private-reels/

#5

Amazing to see this coming back again. Here's the first trailer! And RITA is a Goddess

Steven Spielberg's 'West Side Story' Unveils First Trailer During Oscars
5:38 PM PDT 4/25/2021 by Aaron Couch
The remake of the 1961 classic hits theaters Dec. 10.

The first trailer for West Side Story danced its way to the Oscars on Sunday night. Steven Spielberg's remake of the 1961 classic stars Ansel Elgort as Tony and Rachel Zegler as Maria. Spielberg directed from a script by his Lincoln and Munich writer Tony Kushner. West Side Story, which draws inspiration from Romeo and Juliet, originated as a 1957 Broadway musical written by Arthur Laurents with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and concept, direction and choreography by Jerome Robbins. It tells the story of star-crossed lovers torn between two gangs, the Jets and the Sharks.

The 20th Century film wrapped in October 2019 and has been awaiting release after being delayed a year by COVID-19. It is now due out Dec. 10. "This has been a journey without precedence: a joyful, stunning, moving, endlessly surprising encounter with the story and score of one of the world's greatest musicals," Spielberg wrote in a letter to audiences upon wrapping the film. "We filmed West Side Story all over New York, Flatbush to Fort Tryon Park. The city lent us its beauty and its energy, and we drew deeply upon its grand multicultural, multifaceted spirit."

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ ... ing-oscars

***

Bonus funny story from Aaron Sorkin on how he wrote A Few Good Men:

#6

orlylicious wrote: ↑Mon Apr 26, 2021 6:02 pm Amazing to see this coming back again. Here's the first trailer! And RITA is a Goddess

I knew it was in the works but I did not know when they would end up releasing it. I remember reading earlier that they were trying to restore some of the original story that was lost in the 1961 version (though, as with any musical to movie, you have to do some trimming to fit the media). With the screenwriter having previously been able to take a small portion of a large book (Team of Rivals) and create a wonderful script out of it (Lincoln) which included some of the characterizations from earlier in the book, I think he could probably make WSS work.

I quickly went to see who they had doing choreography for this as that can sometimes give you an idea of where they are going. Justin Peck is the choreographer. Apparently, this kid (gods he's 33) is currently the resident choreographer for the New York CIty Ballet and very good with the Jerome Robbins style. He also got a Tony for the recent Carousel revival. It looks like Spielberg wanted to keep what was special from the original stage and movie versions while adding his own touches.

Apparently, some of the cast are Billy Elliot alums (i.e. were among the various stage Billys). Hollywood's need to add a big "name" to a musical even if they don't have the chops for that role is annoying.

And Lin-Manual scored a "thanks" in the credits. I assume it is because they used his Spanish translations from the 2009 revival.

#7

Hadestown has announced they are re-opening in September and there is a national tour starting later in the year. This is one I want to make if or when it gets to Chicago.

#8

Fun Tony Awards!

Jennifer Holliday killed it tonight with "And I'm Telling You" from Dreamgirls -- nearly 40 years later! Jen's in our same pack as Billy Porter and a bunch of other friends that grew up together.

Catch this fast, it's not official:

Recently remastered 1982 Tonys version with Loretta Devine, Obba Babbatunde and others:

Bonus: These three cute gay boys' Reaction Video to seeing it in 2020. This is just like 1982

It's the end of the first act, they knew there was no topping this. People screamed for 10 minutes, it was like a 747 roaring through.

#9

https://www.theatermania.com/broadway/n ... 92766.html

Lois Smith Earns First Career Tony Award at 90
Smith earned the long-awaited honor for her performance in The Inheritance.

With a stage career that has spanned eight decades, Lois Smith has earned her first Tony Award at the age of 90 for her featured performance in Matthew López's The Inheritance.

Smith nabbed the win for her brief but mighty role as Margaret, a woman who appears in the second act of the second part of López's two-part epic about a community of gay men in modern-day New York. The performance earned her the 2020 Drama Desk Award for Featured Actress in a Play as well.

Smith, who has appeared in 11 Broadway productions throughout her career, earned Tony nominations twice before — in 1990 for her performance as Ma in Frank Galati's adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath, and in 1996 for her performance as Halie in Sam Shepard's Buried Child.

In 2007, Smith was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame, and in 2013, she was given a Lifetime Achievement Obie Award in honor of her extensive work off-Broadway, including her 2006 Drama Desk Award-winning performance in The Trip to Bountiful.

#10

#11

We have tickets for Hamilton in February. It will be vaxxed and masked, but it will be great anyway!

Sam the Centipede · #12

Orlylicious's love interest gets a short profile piece in The Guardian: ‘Meeting Barry White took the sex out of his music for me’: Jane Krakowski’s honest playlist

Dr. Ken · #13

There's a Broadway streaming site called broadwayhd.com to watch supposedly over 300 shows

#14

Somebody should revive "Flahooley".

I don't understand how a Broadway show with Barbara Cook, Yma Sumac, and Prof. Erwin Corey and a crapton of puppets (or dolls I guess they were) could have possibly been a flop.

Flahooley: The Broadway Musical that Dared to Be Too Honest

#15

Heard the pre-word on this, yikes.

We saw Moose Murders!

Broadway: “Diana” Musical Opens to Scathing Reviews, Teeters on Closing Almost Immediately
by Roger Friedman - November 17, 2021 9:26 pm

At long last, “Diana: The Musical” has opened on Broadway like a meteor set to destroy the Earth.

The reviews are scathing. The New York Times calls it “exploitative.” Deadline.com, which likes everything, labels it “a royal mess.” Broadwaynews.com says it’s so bad “it must be seen.” Washington Post drama critic: “As with the car crash that took her life, the most appropriate response to “Diana” the musical is to look away.”

And so on.

These were not the first negative reviews. Last Friday, a man sitting in the orchestra reportedly yelled “F— you!” at the actor playing Prince Charles.

And this after a disastrous filming and showing on Netflix panned by everyone who came near it. On Rotten Tomatoes, the filmed version has a lowly 12%.

Indeed, the reaction to “Diana” is like watching Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom read the reviews for “Springtime for Hitler,” before the plot twist. “Diana” may gone down in history as worse than the previous record holder for a disaster, “The Moose Murders.”

Who is responsible for this catastrophe? The book writer Joe DiPietro, The musical’s songwriters, David Bryan and DiPietro, the actors who are one after another hideously bad, the producers who persisted in this even when the pandemic might have set them free from actually opening.

Can “Diana” remain open until tomorrow? Or will this wretch of a musical that famously rhymed “the thrilla in Manila” with “Camilla” close tonight? There is no advance sale to speak of. According to the Telecharge maps, Saturday night this week is fairly empty. And then it gets worse. Next Saturday, during the Thanksgiving weekend, you could sail paper airplanes through the Longacre Theater during the performance and not bother a patron.

Maybe the Netflix sale, so unusual, helped keep things going. The budget, however, is well into the millions already, even if Netflix helped offset it. That money is gone. The party at the Palace (Buckingham) is almost over. If the announcement doesn’t come tonight or tomorrow, by the weekend it will surely arrive.

https://www.showbiz411.com/2021/11/17/b ... mmediately

#16

#17

And that's that. Sorry for the cast, band and crew. But this was trash.

Diana, a new musical about the life of Princess Diana, will end its Broadway this month. The musical will play its final performance on December 19, just one month after it opened at Longacre Theatre on November 17. At the time of closing, Diana will have played 33 performances and 16 previews.

https://www.broadway.com/buzz/198710/pr ... ance-date/

#18

https://www.playbill.com/article/emilie ... nniversary

Formerly the Christine Daaé alternate, Kouatchou becomes the first Black actor to play the role full-time in Broadway's longest-running production.

Emilie Kouatchou, who made history in October 2021 as the first Black actor to play the role of Christine Daaé in the New York production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, secures her place in the record books when she takes over the role full-time January 26, the same night Broadway's long-running production celebrates its 34th anniversary.

Formerly the Christine alternate, Kouatchou succeeds Meghan Picerno, who played her final performance at the Majestic Theatre January 23. Taking over as the Christine Alternate is Julia Udine.

15f21895beee0cd06cfdc89d828b5cdc-at-certain-performances-emilie-kouatchou-plays-christine. Pictured with Ben Crawford as The Phantom. Photo by Matthew Murphy (5149).jpg (26.12 KiB) Viewed 1091 times

#19

Not sure if she will be good at this or not. Fosse dance stuff is very difficult but they often will adapt the choreography to match the abilities of whatever leads they have.

https://www.broadway.com/buzz/201932/pa ... -broadway/

Pamela Anderson to Star as Roxie Hart in Chicago on Broadway

Pamela Anderson will make her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in the Tony-winning revival of Chicago on Broadway. She will begin performances on April 12 at the Ambassador Theatre and perform through June 5.

"I have always been a huge fan of Bob Fosse's and Gwen Verdon’s work. Ann Reinking, too,” Anderson said. “Playing Roxie Hart is a dream fulfilled."

Anderson appeared on Playboy’s international covers over 100 times. Her first television role was playing Lisa, the Tool Time Girl on ABC’s hit sitcom Home Improvement. She then went on to star as CJ in Baywatch and produced her own television series, V.I.P., starring as Val. Her only starring movie role was Barb in Barb Wire. She is a board member and honorary director of PETA, and she founded the Pamela Anderson Foundation in 2014 to protect and preserve human, animal and environmental rights.

bob · #20

northland10 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 07, 2022 7:37 pm Not sure if she will be good at this or not. Fosse dance stuff is very difficult but they often will adapt the choreography to match the abilities of whatever leads they have.

Bebe Neuwirth once said, "Playing Velma in Chicago was like performing microsurgery from 8–10:20."

Roxie is likely easier than Velma, but still.

#21

Speaking of Fosse dance stuff. The revival of Bob Fosse's Dancin' directed by Wayne Cilento opened last night opens tonight (was in previews since early March). Cilento was nominated for a Tony as best featured actor for the original Dancin' back in the 70s, and he has won a Tony for Best Choreography in The Who's Tommy.

IIRC, the original Dancin' had super difficult choreographer, as is Fosse's way.

Sing, Sing, Sing from the original as performed for the 1978 Tony Awards. Ann Reinking is in this one also.

There are actually 2 versions on this recording. The second is from the Fosse revue that Reinking choreographed back in the late 90s.

#22

This is really going to hurt. A bunch of friends are affected and hoping the WGA can reach an agreement.

The Tony Awards Will Not Be Televised: WGA Denies Strike Waiver – Update
May 12, 2023

The Writers Guild of America has denied producers of the Tony Awards a requested strike waiver that would have allowed the broadcast to go on as scheduled June 11, Deadline has confirmed with sources close to the Tonys. The waiver denial could prove disastrous for the Broadway productions counting on the annual CBS broadcast for the national exposure crucial to ticket sales.

Earlier today, as Deadline reported, the Tony Awards Management Committee scheduled an emergency meeting for Monday to plot its course and contingency plans. It’s unclear if the committee was already aware that the request for a waiver had been denied. Tony contingency plans could include a scaled-back non-televised ceremony, a simple announcement of winners or a postponement of the awards until after the strike ends.

Details about Monday’s meeting are scant and the organizations behind the Tonys – The American Theatre Wing, The Broadway League and exec producers White Cherry Entertainment – have not commented on the matter. Tony voters were set to begin casting ballots on Tuesday. But the strike’s possible impact on this year’s Tonys, which had been set to air and stream Sunday, June 11 on CBS and Paramount+ from the United Palace in New York City’s Washington Heights, will prove huge for the city’s theater industry.

As Deadline reported Wednesday, Actors’ Equity, which represents Broadway’s actors and stage manager, joined the WGA picket lines in New York City. Equity president Kate Shindle told Deadline on Wednesday, “It’s too soon to predict whether this will impact the Tony Awards, which are extremely important to our community as we continue to rebuild. I hope that anyone and everyone who is concerned about Broadway’s biggest night of the year will pledge support for the WGA and join us in demanding that the AMPTP give their workers as much consideration as they devote to executives and shareholders.”

https://dnyuz.com/2023/05/12/the-tony-a ... er-update/

#23

New Progress --

Tony Awards Broadcast Can Proceed After Striking Writers’ Union Agrees
The Tony Awards, a key marketing opportunity for Broadway, can go ahead in an altered form after the striking screenwriters’ union said it would not picket this year’s broadcast.
By Michael Paulson and John Koblin May 15, 2023, 10:02 p.m. ET

This year’s Tony Awards ceremony, which had been in doubt ever since Hollywood’s screenwriters went on strike earlier this month, will proceed as scheduled in an altered form after the writers’ union said Monday night that it would not picket the show. “As they have stood by us, we stand with our fellow workers on Broadway who are impacted by our strike,” the Writers Guild of America, which represents screenwriters, said in a statement late Monday.

The union made it clear that the broadcast, which is scheduled to air on CBS on June 11, would be different from past ceremonies. But the union did not spell out what those differences would be, and the Tony Awards administrators did not have any immediate comment. It is expected that the broadcast will still feature awards honoring the best plays and musicals of the 2022-23 Broadway season, but it is not clear how musical numbers, which are a key marketing opportunity for many shows, will be affected.

“Tony Awards Productions (a joint venture of the Broadway League and the American Theater Wing) has communicated with us that they are altering this year’s show to conform with specific requests from the W.G.A., and therefore the W.G.A. will not be picketing the show,” the union said in a statement. “Responsibility for having to make changes to the format of the 2023 Tony Awards rests squarely on the shoulders of Paramount/CBS and their allies. They continue to refuse to negotiate a fair contract for the writers represented by the W.G.A.”

Though the Tony Awards is not a big ratings draw compared to other awards shows, the televised ceremony is a critical marketing opportunity for the theater industry, which is still drawing audiences well below prepandemic figures.

John Thomas8 · #24

Curious question:

Do Broadway plays still use actual musicians, or is it piped in music?

#25

Some plays (vs. musicals) use pre-recorded music (that goes back a long way, Torch Song Trilogy has tracks), but all musicals use musicians from Local 802 - American Federation of Musicians. For tech reasons, occasionally there's some pre-record -- Phantom Overture's opening verse is pre-record. When the chandelier reaches the ceiling and the strings kick in, that's when the live orchestra begins.

Fogbow