As we've been promising all week, SHOWBUZZDAILY has set up fancy new digs in another part of the internet. If you're viewing this site via a preexisting bookmark, please type the url www.showbuzzdaily.com in your browser, and it'll take you to our new location...then re-bookmark us once you're there, of course. We promise it'll be worth the journey--the site has a terrific new design and fresh content waiting for you at www.showbuzzdaily.com, so come join us!
To contact us Click HERE
Video From Smudge37 Broadway's Lost Treasures 1
Culled from the archives of the first 20 years of Tony Award broadcasts, this DVD includes Joel Grey's opening "Wilkommen" number from "Cabaret" to Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera's dazzling "All That Jazz" from "Chicago" in 1984. 17 performances in all.
BROADWAY'S LOST TREASURES is an unparalleled compilation of rare original cast performances from the televised versions of some of the biggest and most beloved Broadway musicals of the 20th century. These performances--which were seen only once in their original telecasts--have been rescued from the archives and compiled with introductions by featured stars Angela Lansbury, Jerry Orbach, Tommy Tune, and others. See Broadway's legends sing and dance their way through 17 signature showstoppers, including Joel Grey's "Wilkommen" from CABARET and Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera's "All That Jazz" from CHICAGO. Both the VHS and DVD editions contain 5 bonus performances.
To contact us Click HERE
Broadway's Lost Treasures II (2004)
Broadway's Lost Treasures II contains 90 minutes of memorable moments and performances from the various Tony-award telecasts throughout the years. Included on this edition are performances from such famous productions as Man of La Mancha, Chicago, Guys and Dolls, and Anything Goes. Such notables as Gregory Hines, Patti LuPone, Michael Jeter, Nathan Lane, and Jerry Orbach take part in the proceedings.
To contact us Click HERE It's Raining Free Tickets: Congratulations To Latest SOB Contest Winner!
Remember how much I told you I loved Rain - A Tribute To The Beatles?
Today, I'm thrilled to send a lucky Steve On Broadway reader to see the show. Congratulations to Eleah Burman from New York, New York, who has just won two free tickets to see Rain - A Tribute To The Beatles at Broadway's Neil Simon Theatre!
Eligible entries for this SOB Contest needed to subscribe to this blog, follow me on Twitter (and then retweet one of my contest messages) and follow me on Facebook.
Congratulations again, Eleah!
Thank you to everyone who entered the contest. By subscribing to Steve On Broadway, you'll automatically be entered in all future contests!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post. However, in conjunction with SpotCo, two tickets for Rain: A Tribute To The Beatles will be given away to one lucky reader. http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping
To contact us Click HERE Hard To Imagine It's Been Thirty Years
It really is incredibly hard to believe it was 30 years ago today that John Lennon was murdered.
Millions of us were shocked to learn the tragic news in this highly surreal fashion. The evening of December 8, 1980, hit virtually everyone around the world so extraordinarily hard. Suddenly that evening, it didn't matter if you were a fan of The Beatles or Lennon. The idea that such a creative genius who espoused peace could be gunned down so violently broke our collective hearts.
Lennon's untimely death marked the end of an era, even as he had just attempted to begin a new one for himself.
The musical icon had just emerged from a self-imposed "exile" to help raise his young son Sean. On November 17, 1980, just three short weeks prior to his murder, he and his wife Yoko Ono released the incredibly hopeful "Double Fantasy," his first studio recording in five long years.
While the recording would quickly climb to number one on the Billboard charts and go on to earn him a posthumous Grammy for 1981 Album of the Year, for those of us who purchased the recording, we were haunted by the back cover image showing Lennon and Ono outside the Dakota Apartments, just steps from where this man of profound peace met his violent end.
Rest in peace, John Lennon. Thirty years later, we're still trying to imagine the type of world you envisioned.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post. http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping
To contact us Click HERE It's Raining Free Tickets: Congratulations To Latest SOB Contest Winner!
Remember how much I told you I loved Rain - A Tribute To The Beatles?
Today, I'm thrilled to send a lucky Steve On Broadway reader to see the show. Congratulations to Eleah Burman from New York, New York, who has just won two free tickets to see Rain - A Tribute To The Beatles at Broadway's Neil Simon Theatre!
Eligible entries for this SOB Contest needed to subscribe to this blog, follow me on Twitter (and then retweet one of my contest messages) and follow me on Facebook.
Congratulations again, Eleah!
Thank you to everyone who entered the contest. By subscribing to Steve On Broadway, you'll automatically be entered in all future contests!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post. However, in conjunction with SpotCo, two tickets for Rain: A Tribute To The Beatles will be given away to one lucky reader. http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping
To contact us Click HERE Hard To Imagine It's Been Thirty Years
It really is incredibly hard to believe it was 30 years ago today that John Lennon was murdered.
Millions of us were shocked to learn the tragic news in this highly surreal fashion. The evening of December 8, 1980, hit virtually everyone around the world so extraordinarily hard. Suddenly that evening, it didn't matter if you were a fan of The Beatles or Lennon. The idea that such a creative genius who espoused peace could be gunned down so violently broke our collective hearts.
Lennon's untimely death marked the end of an era, even as he had just attempted to begin a new one for himself.
The musical icon had just emerged from a self-imposed "exile" to help raise his young son Sean. On November 17, 1980, just three short weeks prior to his murder, he and his wife Yoko Ono released the incredibly hopeful "Double Fantasy," his first studio recording in five long years.
While the recording would quickly climb to number one on the Billboard charts and go on to earn him a posthumous Grammy for 1981 Album of the Year, for those of us who purchased the recording, we were haunted by the back cover image showing Lennon and Ono outside the Dakota Apartments, just steps from where this man of profound peace met his violent end.
Rest in peace, John Lennon. Thirty years later, we're still trying to imagine the type of world you envisioned.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post. http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping
To contact us Click HERE
Video From Smudge37 Broadway's Lost Treasures 1
Culled from the archives of the first 20 years of Tony Award broadcasts, this DVD includes Joel Grey's opening "Wilkommen" number from "Cabaret" to Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera's dazzling "All That Jazz" from "Chicago" in 1984. 17 performances in all.
BROADWAY'S LOST TREASURES is an unparalleled compilation of rare original cast performances from the televised versions of some of the biggest and most beloved Broadway musicals of the 20th century. These performances--which were seen only once in their original telecasts--have been rescued from the archives and compiled with introductions by featured stars Angela Lansbury, Jerry Orbach, Tommy Tune, and others. See Broadway's legends sing and dance their way through 17 signature showstoppers, including Joel Grey's "Wilkommen" from CABARET and Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera's "All That Jazz" from CHICAGO. Both the VHS and DVD editions contain 5 bonus performances.
To contact us Click HERE
Broadway's Lost Treasures II (2004)
Broadway's Lost Treasures II contains 90 minutes of memorable moments and performances from the various Tony-award telecasts throughout the years. Included on this edition are performances from such famous productions as Man of La Mancha, Chicago, Guys and Dolls, and Anything Goes. Such notables as Gregory Hines, Patti LuPone, Michael Jeter, Nathan Lane, and Jerry Orbach take part in the proceedings.
To contact us Click HERE Nick Payne's new play If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet is having it's US premiere Off Broadway in a stellar production head lined by Jake Gyllenhaal who is making his NY stage debut. Telling the modern day story of a family at the breaking point, Payne's play is not only one that accurately and effectively speaks to current headlines but when combined with an excellent set design and direction rises to an even higher level.
The threat of both teenage bullies and global warming have been hot topics in the news for the past few years. Payne combines both of these headline makers to tell the story of a family with an overweight fifteen year old daughter, Anna, who has been bullied at the school where her mother works. Anna's father is an environmentalist who is so concerned about the threat to the earth that he completely misses the threat that is making his daughter feel alone and the distance that is potentially breaking up his family. When the father's younger estranged brother shows up out of the blue, Anna finds herself with someone who she believes finally understands her but he too has own troubles.
Annie Funke and Jake Gyllenhaal
Set in London, If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet is both an interesting story of a family in crisis as well as one that shows how our preoccupation with various things can get in the way of us not only being able to properly communicate with each other but to also miss important issues that need immediate attention. I found the play both completely realistic in the subject matter and the way that each character spoke differently from each other but also in how it takes modern issues and shows both the comical and dramatic sides of them.
The cast is simply excellent. As the brooding, somewhat violent and outspoken Uncle, Gyllenhaal has the appropriate blend of intensity and compassion, especially when he realizes how lost Anna is and how her parents aren't giving her the direction and attention she needs. Annie Funke as Anna is the girl we've all seen before, the overweight teenager who gets bullied for her weight, tries to be funny to overcome the hurt but is lost and all alone inside. Funke is the one who has to keep her emotions at a fairly consistent and high level and to not let them get too melodramatic and the scenes she has with Gyllenhaal, who she basically sees as her "white knight" are both touching and heartbreaking. The fact that she is holding her own with this powerhouse cast says a lot.
Brian F. O'Byrne and Michelle Gomez
Brian F. O'Byrne is the father, and at first I didn't care that much for him, but I quickly realized that was the point, as he was perfectly playing the distant, self obsessed parent who is trying to "save" the wrong thing and in doing so tries as best as he can to stay away from the real issues at home. There is a passion and intensity in O'Byrne's portrayal that makes you understand his devotion as well as his reluctance to deal with the issues at home. Michelle Gomez as the mother is also spot on in her portrayal of a woman who grew up and doesn't really know her place in the world anymore. The frustration she exhibits, sometimes even with just a look or by simply being silent is perfect. With a distant husband and a lost child she thinks the only thing she can do is to tell her daughter to stay the course while she focuses on overseeing the student production of War of the Worlds, a title not lost on the overall theme of the play. Dysfunction is clearly at the center of this story and while all of these characters aren't perfect, all four actors have you rooting for them to overcome their obstacles and succeed.
Annie Funke and Jake Gyllenhaal
The play begins with an intense rainfall coming down into a trough at the front of the stage in a continual sheet of water. This theatrical use of water is something that director Michael Longhurst and scenic designer Beowulf Boriff will use throughout the play to its fullest extent. Anna's father is writing a book all about reducing carbon footprints and the impact of global warming. So, the use of water is an interesting one it that it so clearly shows both the impact of the melting ice caps as well as literally showing how this one family is drowning from the issues that they are confronted with. Subtle it might not be, but theatrical it is, and when a torrent of rain comes down like a tsunami toward an emotional event in the latter half of the show you can literally hear gasps in the audience. Added to the use of water is the use of set pieces. When the play begins there is a large mound of furniture in the center of the stage. As each scene unfolds the actors will pull the required furniture from the mound and when the scene is over they will discard the props or furniture into the trough of water at the front of the stage. I took this to show the disposable nature of the world as well as to show the rising water that will eventually take us over, as each time something is tossed in the trough, the water line gets higher and higher. While the use of water might seem gimmicky, I found it refreshing in many ways, including the end result of it seeming like the water cleansed the four characters and has now allowed them to move on with their lives.
So, if you're looking to see an A list Hollywood star in an exceptional play that includes some very interesting theatrical moments and four excellent performances, don't miss If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet which is playing Off Broadway through November 25th.
Official Show Site
Interviews with the cast and creative team:
Highlights from the show and opening night interviews:
To contact us Click HERE Hard To Imagine It's Been Thirty Years
It really is incredibly hard to believe it was 30 years ago today that John Lennon was murdered.
Millions of us were shocked to learn the tragic news in this highly surreal fashion. The evening of December 8, 1980, hit virtually everyone around the world so extraordinarily hard. Suddenly that evening, it didn't matter if you were a fan of The Beatles or Lennon. The idea that such a creative genius who espoused peace could be gunned down so violently broke our collective hearts.
Lennon's untimely death marked the end of an era, even as he had just attempted to begin a new one for himself.
The musical icon had just emerged from a self-imposed "exile" to help raise his young son Sean. On November 17, 1980, just three short weeks prior to his murder, he and his wife Yoko Ono released the incredibly hopeful "Double Fantasy," his first studio recording in five long years.
While the recording would quickly climb to number one on the Billboard charts and go on to earn him a posthumous Grammy for 1981 Album of the Year, for those of us who purchased the recording, we were haunted by the back cover image showing Lennon and Ono outside the Dakota Apartments, just steps from where this man of profound peace met his violent end.
Rest in peace, John Lennon. Thirty years later, we're still trying to imagine the type of world you envisioned.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post. http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping
To contact us Click HERE Nick Payne's new play If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet is having it's US premiere Off Broadway in a stellar production head lined by Jake Gyllenhaal who is making his NY stage debut. Telling the modern day story of a family at the breaking point, Payne's play is not only one that accurately and effectively speaks to current headlines but when combined with an excellent set design and direction rises to an even higher level.
The threat of both teenage bullies and global warming have been hot topics in the news for the past few years. Payne combines both of these headline makers to tell the story of a family with an overweight fifteen year old daughter, Anna, who has been bullied at the school where her mother works. Anna's father is an environmentalist who is so concerned about the threat to the earth that he completely misses the threat that is making his daughter feel alone and the distance that is potentially breaking up his family. When the father's younger estranged brother shows up out of the blue, Anna finds herself with someone who she believes finally understands her but he too has own troubles.
Annie Funke and Jake Gyllenhaal
Set in London, If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet is both an interesting story of a family in crisis as well as one that shows how our preoccupation with various things can get in the way of us not only being able to properly communicate with each other but to also miss important issues that need immediate attention. I found the play both completely realistic in the subject matter and the way that each character spoke differently from each other but also in how it takes modern issues and shows both the comical and dramatic sides of them.
The cast is simply excellent. As the brooding, somewhat violent and outspoken Uncle, Gyllenhaal has the appropriate blend of intensity and compassion, especially when he realizes how lost Anna is and how her parents aren't giving her the direction and attention she needs. Annie Funke as Anna is the girl we've all seen before, the overweight teenager who gets bullied for her weight, tries to be funny to overcome the hurt but is lost and all alone inside. Funke is the one who has to keep her emotions at a fairly consistent and high level and to not let them get too melodramatic and the scenes she has with Gyllenhaal, who she basically sees as her "white knight" are both touching and heartbreaking. The fact that she is holding her own with this powerhouse cast says a lot.
Brian F. O'Byrne and Michelle Gomez
Brian F. O'Byrne is the father, and at first I didn't care that much for him, but I quickly realized that was the point, as he was perfectly playing the distant, self obsessed parent who is trying to "save" the wrong thing and in doing so tries as best as he can to stay away from the real issues at home. There is a passion and intensity in O'Byrne's portrayal that makes you understand his devotion as well as his reluctance to deal with the issues at home. Michelle Gomez as the mother is also spot on in her portrayal of a woman who grew up and doesn't really know her place in the world anymore. The frustration she exhibits, sometimes even with just a look or by simply being silent is perfect. With a distant husband and a lost child she thinks the only thing she can do is to tell her daughter to stay the course while she focuses on overseeing the student production of War of the Worlds, a title not lost on the overall theme of the play. Dysfunction is clearly at the center of this story and while all of these characters aren't perfect, all four actors have you rooting for them to overcome their obstacles and succeed.
Annie Funke and Jake Gyllenhaal
The play begins with an intense rainfall coming down into a trough at the front of the stage in a continual sheet of water. This theatrical use of water is something that director Michael Longhurst and scenic designer Beowulf Boriff will use throughout the play to its fullest extent. Anna's father is writing a book all about reducing carbon footprints and the impact of global warming. So, the use of water is an interesting one it that it so clearly shows both the impact of the melting ice caps as well as literally showing how this one family is drowning from the issues that they are confronted with. Subtle it might not be, but theatrical it is, and when a torrent of rain comes down like a tsunami toward an emotional event in the latter half of the show you can literally hear gasps in the audience. Added to the use of water is the use of set pieces. When the play begins there is a large mound of furniture in the center of the stage. As each scene unfolds the actors will pull the required furniture from the mound and when the scene is over they will discard the props or furniture into the trough of water at the front of the stage. I took this to show the disposable nature of the world as well as to show the rising water that will eventually take us over, as each time something is tossed in the trough, the water line gets higher and higher. While the use of water might seem gimmicky, I found it refreshing in many ways, including the end result of it seeming like the water cleansed the four characters and has now allowed them to move on with their lives.
So, if you're looking to see an A list Hollywood star in an exceptional play that includes some very interesting theatrical moments and four excellent performances, don't miss If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet which is playing Off Broadway through November 25th.
Official Show Site
Interviews with the cast and creative team:
Highlights from the show and opening night interviews:
To contact us Click HERE The Broadway revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood might just be the show with the most fun currently running on Broadway. With a top notch ensemble, including Broadway legend Chita Rivera, as well as impressive sets and costumes, Drood is simply smashing.
Created by singer/songwriter Rupert Holmes, The Mystery of Edwin Drood originally premiered in 1985 as one of the Public Theatre's free Summer series of plays in Central Park. It then moved to Broadway that Winter and won the Tony Award for Best New Musical that season. This is the first time the show has been revived on Broadway.
Drood is an ingenious show in that it takes the final, unfinished novel by Charles Dickens and turns it into a musical set within a musical that includes the audience voting on the ending. In doing so it becomes not only the story of what exactly happened to young Edwin Drood but also the story of the actors playing the characters in the musical as well as the audience's involvement in voting on key decisions in the play's outcome. If Dickens hadn't died before finishing the novel the musical wouldn't be as much fun as it is because the audience's involvement in the last 1/4 of the show, when they help shape the outcome, provides an amazing way for the audience to connect to it.
Jim Norton, Betsy Wolfe, Gregg Edelman, Stephanie J. Block, Robert Creighton and Jessie Mueller
The show is presented as if you are at a British Music Hall in the early 1900's. By doing so it gives the actors the opportunity to ham up their parts, coming out into the audience to get them excited, continual interaction from the stage manager as well as having the part of Drood played by a woman. This tradition is known as the "trouser role" as women at that time were never allowed to wear pants except if they were on stage playing a man. This is something of an English tradition which can be most likely traced back to the time of Shakespeare when originally men played all the parts in his plays, including the women, due to women not being allowed to act. This turnabout is definitely an advantage for us in that it gives Stephanie J. Block the chance to shine not only as Drood but also as Alice Nutting, the actress playing Drood.
Will Chase and Stephanie J. Block
Not only is Block great in her parts, with an amazingly clear voice but the rest of the ensemble matches her as well not only in their vocals but their enthusiasm. Jim Norton is the Chairman who serves as the narrator of the play that the troop of actors he oversees is presenting for us. That play, of course, is "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" and Norton perfectly gets across the part of the manager trying to keep his troop of overacting thespians in line. This includes handling interruptions by the scene chewing cast, managing an actor who has little to do but prays for a bigger role and dealing with Nutting when she gets upset by a decision the cast makes about Edwin's fate. Norton manages all of those tasks and more in a charming yet effective way.
Chita Rivera, Stephanie J. Block and Will Chase
Will Chase plays Drood's uncle John Jasper and excels in his portrayal of the sneaky, drug imbibing relative who is in love with Rosa Bud, Edwin's betrothed. Chase is most likely better known for the role he played on the tv show Smash but his performance here is so unlike that character that you most likely won't even recognize him. Rosa is played by Betsy Wolfe who sings like a bird and looks like an angel but who has some secrets of her own.
Chita Rivera is Princess Puffer, the madame of an opium den who has many secrets herself and connections to several of the people in Drood's life. While Rivera's British accent comes and goes, she is having a heck of a time in the show, belts out her songs with the best of them and seeing this Broadway legend, who will turn 80 in a month, still having so much fun on the stage is simply infectious.
Andy Karl and Jessie Mueller
Andy Karl and Jessie Mueller are brother and sister orphans from Ceylon who Reverend Crisparkle, played by Gregg Edelman, is helping to get acquainted with their new lives in England. Karl and Mueller are hysterical in their portrayals with Mueller exceptionally impressive with her vocal skills, diction and accent. Karl is no slouch either with this acting and singing abilities and the hilarious accent he and his "sister" are giving us. While Edelman has less to do and his role isn't as "showy" as the rest, he still manages to give us a character we can identify with. Robert Creighton is hilarious as the drunken character in the play within the play as well as completely proud of his son who has just joined the acting troop.
Andy Karl and his eyebrows!
The entire cast effectively manages the dual roles they are given. Karl, Mueller and Wolfe's facial expressions alone are worth the price of admissions. Actually just Karl's movement of his eyebrows is. Karl is one of those performers who we've seen in numerous Broadway and Off Broadway shows but this is a breakout role for him and I'm so glad to see him relish the part so effectively.
Since pretty much every one of the cast members has a potential motive for killing Edwin Drood, and because Dickens didn't finish the novel before he passed away, it is up to the audience to vote not on only who Drood's killer is but also on which actors play other key parts in the show. During this part of the show the main suspects ham it up and chew the scenery with panache. Since there are multiple suspects and several things the audience votes on, there are over 1,000 combinations on the way the voting could go, so the last 1/4 of the show is never the same. In fact, at a talk back with the cast that followed our performance we were told that one of the choices we voted on was the first time that this cast had performed that selection. So the cast has to be prepared for every possible combination of the voting results.
Let the voting begin!
Holmes' score features not only lovely ballads with soaring melodies for the play within the play but also upbeat rousing comical numbers for the Music Hall Royale's troop to sing. Holmes not only wrote the music, lyrics and book of the show, but the orchestrations as well, which is something of a rarity. This revival features some additional changes that Holmes made to the score and this cast just recorded a cast recording that is to feature many of the possible voting results as well as some music not heard on previous recordings.
Scott Ellis' direction of the show is simply wonderful. He completely gets the fun and the drama that the show requires but has also found a way to have the joy that the actors are feeling wash over the footlights and out into the audience. This is especially effective in his staging of the final song of the show, which comes after all of the humorous voting has ended, and is is such an uplifting one that sends the audience out of the theatre on an emotional high.
Warren Carlyle's choreography matches Ellis' direction in getting the fun and joy but also the beauty in the more serious moments of the show. Creative elements are top notch and I expect many Tony nominations come next May for the show with Anna Louizos' set design and William Ivey Long's costumes not only all beautiful and colorful but also perfectly in touch with the character's, the period and the feeling of being back in the days of the British Music Hall. Brian Nason's lighting design and Tony Meola's sound design are also effective in setting the mood of the piece and Paul Gemignani gives his usual clear and decisive handling of the musical direction of the orchestra.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood is one show not to miss this season. It will make you laugh and possibly make you cry and leave you with a feeling that life is simply wonderful and that the magic of the theatre is alive and well on 54th street. Drood, while originally a limited run, has just been extended to March 10th.
Official Show Site
Highlights from this production:
Interviews with the cast and creative team:
The original Broadway cast featuring George Rose, Betty Buckley, Cleo Laine, Howard McGillin and Patti Cohenour perform on the 1986 Tony Awards:
To contact us Click HERE The Broadway musical Wicked is a phenomenon. Having run for over nine years and launched National Tours, a production that is still running in London and various other productions in other cities around the world, it is a show that many people have seen, including many people who have seen it many times. We fall into that later category having attended the show something like five times during the first two years of its Broadway run.
So with relatives coming to town who wanted to see the show, we got tickets and it was very interesting seeing this production with a cast we'd never seen before and a show we hadn't seen in something like seven years. Wicked is a show that definitely has its haters, but there is so much to connect to in the show and so many different themes and layers that it is no wonder that so many people like it and, like us, have returned to it over and over again.
Telling the back story of the Wicked Witch of the West and how she got to be that way and given that name, the musical is based on the best selling novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire. And while the main theme and characters of the musical are the same as the novel, there are many changes that book writer Winnie Holzman and composer Stephen Schwartz made to make the story and characters more accessible and as a result created a show that so many people fell in love with. The way they were also able to connect this version of the story to things we all know and love from the movie The Wizard of Oz also added another layer to the storytelling.
Jackie Burns
There are many twists and surprises in the story, so I won't reveal too much but the main story follows Elphaba and Galinda, from the time they meet at college to their later years when Elphaba has become the Wicked Witch of the West and Galinda has become Glinda the Good Witch of the North. But, to quote a line from the show, was Elphaba "born wicked, or did she have wickedness thrust upon her?" You see, the musical shows that sometimes what people are told or think they know about a person isn't always the truth, especially when public figures make comments that are really lies about people who are in the way of achieving their personal goals. The musical has other themes and layers, including that beauty truly is what's inside, that sometimes the worst of enemies can become the best of friends, that a simple personal choice can sometimes create great change and even that stupid, rich and handsome college boys may not be so stupid after all.
Alli Mauzey
The current Broadway cast includes Jackie Burns as Elphaba and Alli Mauzey as Galinda, both of whom completely instill the characters with the drive and power that the original Broadway leads Idina Menzel and Kristen Cheoweth did. They are also very good singers, though Mauzey was a little weak in the opening sequence, so I was a little concerned, though she quickly overcame that and exceeded for the rest of the show. Burns is a powerhouse and belts out her big solos, including the showstopper "Defying Gravity" with ease.
Kyle Dean Massey
Kyle Dean Massey as Fiyero was more age appropriate for the part of a college aged kid than original cast member Norbert Leo Butz, and Massey makes a good romantic lead as well as has a nice clear strong voice. It's easy to see why both Galinda and Elphaba fall for him. Adam Grupper as the Wizard was fine in the part, though lacks the showmanship that both original cast member Joel Grey as well as the replacement we saw subsequently, George Hearn, brought to the part. Randy Danson is both perfectly nice and evil as Madame Morrible.
The production still boasts a top notch ensemble and production credits, which is nice to see nine years after the show opened. I'm assuming that Director Joe Mantello is dropping by every now and then to ensure the production and the cast is up to snuff.
Wicked is a show that not everyone loves, but as someone who loved it the first time I saw it in previews back in October of 2003 it still resonates today. It was actually very interesting seeing the show right after the 2012 Presidential Elections had just passed with all of the false information and name calling that was going back and forth against the candidates. It really makes you want to fact check everything that anyone says about anyone else.
Official Show Site
Broadway.com interview with Jackie Burns- including some clips from the show:
To contact us Click HERE The musical Bare, that just opened Off Broadway, is a show that has been around for about ten years now. While there have been several other productions in the US, this production is the first one to open in NY Off Broadway as an open ended run. This is also an updated version of the show with numerous changes made to bring the story to current times as well as add a large amount of dialogue that was missing in the previous "rock opera" version of the show. While this updating was beneficial, and the added dialogue makes the more traditional musical more accessible, Bare is still a show that tells a story we've pretty much all seen before. And, the overly amplified and at various times screaming pop music detracts from the several songs in the show that are excellent musical theatre character driven songs. Still, Bare is a good musical, it just isn't a great one.
Bare is the story of two high school boys who are in love. The fact that they attend a Catholic High School and one of the boys is a semi-closeted nerd and the other a closeted jock only adds to the drama. Add to the mix a straight couple who have their own issues, including the girl of that couple falling for the closeted jock, drug use in teenagers, the views of Catholicism on homosexuality and your usual teen angst and you have two hours of teen drama that, as I said before, we've pretty much seen before in various after school specials, movies of the week and "special" episodes of tv dramas.
Taylor Trensch and Jason Hite
While Taylor Trensch and Jason Hite are quite effective as Peter, the nerd and Jason, the jock, either both of them were having a slightly off night vocally or they weren't exactly cast for their soaring vocal abilities. They are very effective in their portrayals of these two lost boys who find themselves when they find each other, I just wish their voices were more up to handle the challenges of the pop rock score.
And while most of the rest of the supporting characters were one dimensional, mainly due to the book of the show and not the actors, I really liked Barrett Wilbert Weed who plays Jason's drug dealing sister, Elizabeth Judd as Ivy who had some scandal in her past that made her transfer schools and Gerard Canonico as Matt, who is in love with Ivy and hopes that she is really in love with him. Missi Pyle as Sister Joan, the one compassionate teacher at the school was quite effective not only in this part of a caring and thoughtful teacher but also as the "dream" Virgin Mary who comes to answer Peter's "911" call. Pyle was able to handle the demands of the score but even Wilbert Weed, Judd and Canonico struggled a bit, which makes me believe the casting for the show was more focused on finding actors who can sing then singers who can act.
Barrett Wilbert Weed and the cast
Damon Intrabartolo composed the score for the show with book and lyrics by Jon Hartmere. Lynne Shankel also contributed additional music. There is much to like in the score with various styles of music and some touching ballads and duets but again, several of the songs have the ensemble screaming their lungs out with most of the lyrics unintelligible.
Stafford Arima directs this production and it is interesting that he decided to direct this show considering earlier in the year he directed the off Broadway production of Carrie, which is also a show set in a high school with plenty of religious overtones. Arima manages to keep the action moving and focused as well as effectively uses the set in staging the various locales of the show, but I wish he had found a way to better focus the parts of the show where the cast is basically just screaming out the lyrics.
I did like the set design by Donyale Werle, it was simple, yet effective with a couple of moving walls to signify the various rooms at the school. The use of projections by William Cusick was also a nicely dramatic and theatrical element and quite effective in the ease of showing pictures of the cast since several photos they've taken for school projects figure in to the plot.
Bare is one of those musicals where there are about six or seven really good songs surrounded by others that are just so-so. With two leads and a talented ensemble, a nice set design and serviceable direction it manages to effectively get across the message behind the issues surrounding the teenage characters in the show. I just wish there was less screaming and slightly better singers in the cast.
Official Show Site
Performance highlights from the show:
"Are You There?" Gerard Canonico and Taylor Trensch perform at Broadway on Broadway:
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The Broadway musical Wicked is a phenomenon. Having run for over nine years and launched National Tours, a production that is still running in London and various other productions in other cities around the world, it is a show that many people have seen, including many people who have seen it many times. We fall into that later category having attended the show something like five times during the first two years of its Broadway run. 
The musical Bare, that just opened Off Broadway, is a show that has been around for about ten years now. While there have been several other productions in the US, this production is the first one to open in NY Off Broadway as an open ended run. This is also an updated version of the show with numerous changes made to bring the story to current times as well as add a large amount of dialogue that was missing in the previous "rock opera" version of the show. While this updating was beneficial, and the added dialogue makes the more traditional musical more accessible, Bare is still a show that tells a story we've pretty much all seen before. And, the overly amplified and at various times screaming pop music detracts from the several songs in the show that are excellent musical theatre character driven songs. Still, Bare is a good musical, it just isn't a great one.
I did like the set design by Donyale Werle, it was simple, yet effective with a couple of moving walls to signify the various rooms at the school. The use of projections by William Cusick was also a nicely dramatic and theatrical element and quite effective in the ease of showing pictures of the cast since several photos they've taken for school projects figure in to the plot.