Broadway musicals

[Theatregirl1122]

And, wow! Paradise Square! That was amazing!

The summary of Paradise Square seemed interesting to me and then I NEVER HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT IT AGAIN.

This feels like the broadcast plan that leads up to Six winning for Best Musical. Six is a very good show. 2020 had gone as planned it should have won then. But it shouldn't beat Strange Loop. I'm gonna be grumpy if it does.

 

[screech]

I watched about half the show.

Ariana DeBose is an incredibly charismatic person. But I wasn't 100% on her as a host. In the opening number I kept struggling to make out what she was saying at times. I did enjoy her bit with Andrew Garfield. Actually the few times we saw him seemed geared towards just making him blush - between her performance with him, and Nathan Lane just gushing about him... just adorable.

I was surprisingly underwhelmed by the Music Man performance. The energy was really lacking, especially from Sutton. Did not make me want to go see the show.

I was surprised by how fantastic Myles Frost was as Michael Jackson. Guy moves and sounds just like him! I looked Myles up on Wikipedia - he was in university in Maryland studying audio engineering but left school when he got cast in the role after the original actor left and the role needed to be filled quickly.

Kind of interesting that the Spring Awakening performance was a song that just had the males perform solos. I'm not familiar with the show, so I don't know if there were any other ensemble options that could have included more variety. I like that everyone was wearing different outfits all in black.

(Though I can appreciate the song, I didn't enjoy the Strange Loop performance)

 

[Cachoo]

OK this isn't a musical but has anyone had the chance to see this play: https://youtu.be/ItcnLVsdeEs

 

[Sarah]

I watched and thought the broadcast was... underwhelming. In my opinion, the best performances were Spring Awakening, Paradise Square, and Six. Considering Spring Awakening was a reunion performance and not actually intending to sell tickets, that's not good. Overall, the night just lacked energy.

I'm not sure that the SA cast could have picked a song that would have better highlighted more than just male vocalists. My Junk does, but it doesn't have the same impact as Touch Me. Everything else is male vocals/female vocals, or just highlights one singer (or I'm forgetting something which is very possible since it's been a while). Either way, I very much enjoyed it. Hard to believe it's been 15 years since they won the Tony!

 

[attyfan]

Another EGOT winner, as of last night:

Jennifer Hudson is an EGOT winner

Jennifer Hudson made history Sunday night.

www.cnn.com

 

[Cachoo]

I watched and thought the broadcast was... underwhelming. In my opinion, the best performances were Spring Awakening, Paradise Square, and Six. Considering Spring Awakening was a reunion performance and not actually intending to sell tickets, that's not good. Overall, the night just lacked energy.

I'm not sure that the SA cast could have picked a song that would have better highlighted more than just male vocalists. My Junk does, but it doesn't have the same impact as Touch Me. Everything else is male vocals/female vocals, or just highlights one singer (or I'm forgetting something which is very possible since it's been a while). Either way, I very much enjoyed it. Hard to believe it's been 15 years since they won the Tony!

I think some years have stronger shows or stronger performances and last night was ok but not WOW. I remember the high I was on following this particular Tony Awards show:

70th Annual Tony Awards Closing Number

I own nothing

youtu.be

 

[Sarah]

I think some years have stronger shows or stronger performances and last night was ok but not WOW. I remember the high I was on following this particular Tony Awards show:

70th Annual Tony Awards Closing Number

I own nothing

youtu.be

That was a good year for theatre, even beyond Hamilton.

 

[canbelto]

I saw Funny Girl last week with the understudy Julie Benko. I found her voice impressive but the musical was very underwhelming:

Summer Diaries: Funny Girl, How I Learned To Drive, Rigoletto

Benko as Fanny It's been a busy week. I ended up seeing three shows in a short amount of time: Funny Girl , How I Learned to Drive , and R...

humbledandoverwhelmed.blogspot.com

 

[overedge]

I watched some of the Tonys but was running in and out of the room doing other things.

Six - I liked the costumes but some of those lyrics were worse than Diana: The Musical.
A Strange Loop - I hope the rest of the show is better than that excerpt.
Music Man - This is not a tap-dancing musical. Hugh Jackman is way too self-assured to be Harold Hill - the guy is insecure, even though he puts on a good front he knows he's one step away from being exposed as a con.

I loved the staging of the number from Company, that was brilliant.

I know this has been a tough year with some shows re-starting and others coming back just to be shut down again, but overall this wasn't a great broadcast. Plus I had to at "look how progressive and inclusive we are now" while handing out awards to old warhorses like Patti Lupone and Sam Mendes. No slam on them or their talents, just that there seemed to be two different narratives at play.

 

[Wyliefan]

I saw Funny Girl last week with the understudy Julie Benko. I found her voice impressive but the musical was very underwhelming:

Summer Diaries: Funny Girl, How I Learned To Drive, Rigoletto

Benko as Fanny It's been a busy week. I ended up seeing three shows in a short amount of time: Funny Girl , How I Learned to Drive , and R...

humbledandoverwhelmed.blogspot.com

Good job on your review!

 

[The Accordion]

OK this isn't a musical but has anyone had the chance to see this play: https://youtu.be/ItcnLVsdeEs

I want to see this so badly! But it closes before I get to NYC in July! :{

 

[Cachoo]

I want to see this so badly! But it closes before I get to NYC in July! :{

Well that stinks. Maybe one day we'll see it on Great Performances on PBS.

 

[ribbon]

I’ll be going to London, got cheap tickets for The Play That Goes Wrong, King Lear (at the Globe), and Jersey Boys (row 7 for 30 pounds, yay!). Have t seen any, any one have personal opinions?

 

[screech]

I'm finally getting back to see shows! I've purchased tickets to see the North American premiere of "& Juliet" in Toronto. The original West End production won some Oliviers, and it seems like a fun jukebox musical, with the music of songwriter Max Martin, including songs by Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Pink, and more.

I’ll be going to London, got cheap tickets for The Play That Goes Wrong, King Lear (at the Globe), and Jersey Boys (row 7 for 30 pounds, yay!). Have t seen any, any one have personal opinions?

I saw Jersey Boys on the West End 10 years ago and absolutely loved it. It's definitely a good time.

 

[Wyliefan]

I’ll be going to London, got cheap tickets for The Play That Goes Wrong, King Lear (at the Globe), and Jersey Boys (row 7 for 30 pounds, yay!). Have t seen any, any one have personal opinions?

I've seen the first and third -- both were a lot of fun! I read King Lear in college but don't think I've ever actually seen it performed.

 

[gkelly]

I read King Lear in college but don't think I've ever actually seen it performed.

Ha. I was assistant stage manager on a production of King Lear in college, and later a production assistant for a professional production. Later still as a grad student I had an option to put my name in for a lottery to direct a show of my choice in a campus theatre over winter break. I opted for King Lear and my name got picked, so I directed it (scaled-down production with a smallish cast and many edits) as well. At that point I knew many of the lines by heart, but of course by now I have long forgotten them.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

Kind of interesting that the Spring Awakening performance was a song that just had the males perform solos. I'm not familiar with the show, so I don't know if there were any other ensemble options that could have included more variety. I like that everyone was wearing different outfits all in black.

Spring Awakening is almost impossible to pull from. Every cast ends up with Touch Me as a pull because it's one of the few ensemble numbers that has everyone and can be aired on network TV. My Junk is almost completely the girls, and it's not one of the strongest songs? Although honestly Touch Me isn't a favorite either. I'd probably have gone with My Junk, but it's not a popular choice for Spring Awakening casts.

B*tch of Living is just the boys, Dark I Know Well is waaaaaay too much for that kind of thing, Mirror Blue Night is a sex scene, The Guilty Ones is mostly a duet, Totally F*cked has to be censored for network TV (they did it as part of their original Tony performance and it was REALLY dumb).

Honestly Song of Purple Summer is probably the best choice? Except that no one likes it.

 

[screech]

I read that there's speculation that they purposefully chose a song that would highlight Skylar Astin, as apparently he has a show coming out on CBS, which was the network that aired the Tonys.

 

[Orm Irian]

I’ll be going to London, got cheap tickets for The Play That Goes Wrong, King Lear (at the Globe), and Jersey Boys (row 7 for 30 pounds, yay!). Have t seen any, any one have personal opinions?

The Play that Goes Wrong is an absolute scream, just brilliant comic timing and cascading hilariousness. I haven't seen the other two, but the music for Jersey Boys is great and the Globe is reliably good whatever the show (I saw Richard III there a couple of years ago and had a fantastic time). Hope you enjoy all three!

 

[Sarah]

Honestly Song of Purple Summer is probably the best choice? Except that no one likes it.

I love Song of Purple Summer, but if they wanted more solos, that's not the song. Still, it's gorgeous...

 

[mattiecat13]

Just saw To Kill a Mockingbird as part of the Broadway Series in our local theater. I was explaining the plot to my niece when I realized I had Mockingbird mixed up with the plot from A Time to Kill. (In my defense I hadn't read the book for decades.) As for the play, I thought it was strange Scout, Jem and Dill were played by adults when they were children in the book but Richard Thomas was good and I enjoyed the play. Then I ordered the book from the library so I could refresh my memory. I might reread A Time to Kill, too.

 

[Wyliefan]

Broadway's Phantom has announced it will close in February. I'm sad. Warhorse or no warhorse, I'm very fond of that show. I've seen it many times on tour and once in London, but now I'm especially glad I got to see it on Broadway too.

‘Phantom of the Opera,’ Broadway’s Longest-Running Show, to Close (Published 2022)

The theatergoing audience has been slow to return after the pandemic lockdown, and the show hasn’t been selling well enough to defray its running costs.

www.nytimes.com

There's always the chance that they're just trying to get sales up and will extend if they do. Or that they will close it just to revamp it and bring it back in a few years. I just hope that if they do, the production isn't crappy. I wasn't a fan of the Les Mis reworking.

 

[VGThuy]

It was such a staple of the theatre district that it’s going to be weird to see the marquee change at the theater and no longer seeing all the posters and stuff.

 

[screech]

Broadway's Phantom has announced it will close in February. I'm sad. Warhorse or no warhorse, I'm very fond of that show. I've seen it many times on tour and once in London, but now I'm especially glad I got to see it on Broadway too.

‘Phantom of the Opera,’ Broadway’s Longest-Running Show, to Close (Published 2022)

The theatergoing audience has been slow to return after the pandemic lockdown, and the show hasn’t been selling well enough to defray its running costs.

www.nytimes.com

There's always the chance that they're just trying to get sales up and will extend if they do. Or that they will close it just to revamp it and bring it back in a few years. I just hope that if they do, the production isn't crappy. I wasn't a fan of the Les Mis reworking.

What? This just seems so wrong.

I saw & Juliet in Toronto a few months ago, in its North American premiere before it heads to Broadway at the end of October. The show I went to had a lot of the understudies performing (so no Stark Sands or Betsy Wolf) but it was still a good time. Not a perfect musical, and I liked act 2 a lot more than act 1, but I laughed quite a lot, the performers were great, and the way they wove the Max Martin-penned songs into the story was really good.
It was written by one of the writers for Schitt's Creek, and there was one or two times where I swear there was a line directly from the show. And the Anne Hathaway jokes were great (I really hope the actress shows up to the premiere).

 

[VGThuy]

In case anyone was curious, here’s Pamela Anderson as Roxie in Chicago. I think she does a competent job based on charisma alone. No, she can’t even dance the very watered down and light version of Fosse nor does she have that natural affinity for the sort of Fosse-esque slinkiness and body isolations, and I’d hate to see her dance “Me and My Baby” but she seems committed to the psycho Betty Boop portrayal she decided on.

Here are nine other Roxies to compare her to (some are obviously celeb stunt cast):

Anderson seems closest to Melanie Griffith’s portrayal and I have to say Griffith did it better. Anderson has a more mannered and play-acting vibe to it while Griffith was so natural to the point of being super lived in that portrayal.

Rest of Melanie Griffith’s portrayal:

 

[canbelto]

Saw a preview of Some Like it Hot. It was pretty dreadful:

Some Like it Corny

On paper, Some Like it Hot s hould have been a fun night at the theater. It's an adaptation of Billy Wilder's classic madcap comedy. The cas...

humbledandoverwhelmed.blogspot.com

 

[canbelto]

absolutely LOVED Kimberly Akimbo:

Cleverly Akimbo

Kimberly and Seth, photo @ Sara Krulwich Musicals about adolescents are often a losing proposition right out of the gate. Performers who l...

humbledandoverwhelmed.blogspot.com

 

[VGThuy]

Most exciting news I’ve heard in a long time:

David Byrne-Fatboy Slim Musical Here Lies Love Sets Broadway Dates

The Imelda Marcos musical premiered Off-Broadway at the Public Theater in 2013.

www.playbill.com

 

[PatChan4O]

A Cell Block Tango for the ages:

https://twitter.com/officialbpeters/status/1626654013834858518?s=61&t=3liKHx_yREiutaVUYuazRQ

Someone alert the Weisslers.

 

[screech]

A Cell Block Tango for the ages:

https://twitter.com/officialbpeters/status/1626654013834858518?s=61&t=3liKHx_yREiutaVUYuazRQ

Someone alert the Weisslers.

While I hope he was trained humanely, that was amazing!