And I think BG was directed well - it could, however, do with some trimming in the interpretative dance department. Tim Gowen, of RATM, renamed the show "North Side Story."
posted at 1/27/2001 10:26:42 PM by Catherine Skidmore | Item Link



CDs: The Whos Are Heard by Ken Mandelbaum
The Seussical Cuts!


posted at 1/27/2001 10:01:35 PM by Susan Heim | Item Link



Just one comment about the below post concerning agents vs managers. I did not see in Alison's post the important fact that agents are licensed as employment agencies by respective state agencies (NYS Dept of Labor, etc...) whereas managers are not regulated by a governmental agency. Managers do have a self-regulating "association", but this body does not have legal jurisdiction to punish a manager who gets out of line. This is why the unions sanction agents and not managers. New actors in the business are more likely to get scammed by a manager than an agent.

On the theatre viewing front, I saw Beautiful Game. Needs a new director and it could come to Broadway. The material is there but the story is not being presented correctly. Yes, it is centered around an Irish football team, but the message is universal. You do not have to be from Europe to appreciate the story.

Also saw Woman in Black (has that ever transfered to NY?) and Fallen Angels (by Noel Coward) loved both of them too.

I think the guest columnists are doing a bang-up job. My thanks to them. I wonder if there is a way to keep them on after I return... Hmmm....

And one last thing: riding the Tube can be Risky Business...
posted at 1/27/2001 07:08:51 PM by James Marino | Item Link



Manager? Agent? Great explanation given by Alison Franck, the Casting Director at Paper Mill Playhouse, over on RATM. It's snowing like crazy!
posted at 1/27/2001 12:37:21 PM by Susan Heim | Item Link



The Movie in Lea Salonga's Mind, MISS SAIGON closes Jan. 28!
This is fun, but we still miss YOU!
posted at 1/27/2001 11:17:06 AM by Susan Heim | Item Link



Spotting Those Unexpected Men and Women Around Town by Peter Filichia
posted at 1/27/2001 06:58:48 AM by Matthew Murray | Item Link



Today's birthdays include: Alan Cumming, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Lewis Carroll, and Jerome Kern.
posted at 1/27/2001 06:57:23 AM by Matthew Murray | Item Link



PBOL'S Theatre Week In Review
Includes more speculation on the Atkinson Theatre - "promised to Mack and Mabel." I recommend Jane Eyre, although it's probably not for everyone. Tommy Tune's version of "Tap Your Troubles Away" is a song that never fails to put a smile on my face.

Last Night of the World for B'way Miss Saigon Jan. 28
Final Performance is Super Bowl Sunday. And Survivor Sunday, for reality TV addicts like me.

Fringe Hit Revival of Stage Door Returns OOB at HERE, Jan. 27-Feb.17
That's not a misprint. Tickets are only $12.

Court Upholds Rules Allowing Theaters' Sale of Air Rights

In God's Love Benefit February 19
Interesting cast includes the woman who I have long considered the most beautiful woman in the world...no, not Lypsinka, Isabella Rossellini. Thanks to Anthony for the link.
posted at 1/27/2001 03:02:07 AM by the other James | Item Link

Friday, January 26, 2001

I'd forgotten James was attending the performance as well. We should have met up there! Maybe next time. I thought of a couple of more things I wanted to add. First, James's analysis of Reba is quite on the target. Reba is more than an acceptable replacement--someone who can act, sing, do comedy, and even dance when necessary. It's so nice to see that in a replacement star. Also, I feel I need to vent a bit. No matter who is onstage, and no matter how much you may want to, it simply isn't appropriate to take flash pictures during the show. It is, perhaps, understandable that there was a lot of it at the curtain call, but there were a fair number of flashes during the show as well. It really is distracting and potentially dangerous to the performers, especially during dance numbers.
posted at 1/26/2001 11:45:58 PM by Matthew Murray | Item Link



I too have just come back from the opening night of Reba Get Your Gun. I had not seen this production before – I’m not a big Bernadette fan and just didn’t get around to seeing it with Cheryl Ladd.

This show holds some very nice memories for me. When I was growing up in Lon Gisland, mom and dad used to squeeze us into the Valiant and head to Eisenhower Park to see the musical produced there each summer. We’d have a picnic on the lawn and then, as the sun set, we’d see a musical….the same one several times each summer. (Did I mention they were free?) The summer of Annie Get Your Gun must have been a nice summer, weather-wise, because we saw this one many times.

So how is Reba? She’s very very good. She sings the part well, she’s very charming and has good comic timing. Brent Barrett is the new Frank Butler and he’s very good too. I especially liked “..Wonderful” and “Old Fashioned Wedding.” The production is nothing special but, like Matthew said, if you want to see this production, see it with Reba.

Today's helpful theater-going hint....please, ease up on the Jean Naté.
posted at 1/26/2001 11:25:55 PM by the other James | Item Link



I just returned from Reba McEntire's first performance in Annie Get Your Gun. Basically, if you like Reba generally, you'll like her in this. She mostly does very well, especially in the bolder and brassier numbers, such as "You Can't Get a Man With a Gun," or "The Sun in the Morning and the Moon at Night." If you have interest in seeing the show, now would probably be a good time.
posted at 1/26/2001 11:10:30 PM by Matthew Murray | Item Link



Maury Yeston's Next Musical: DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY
"It's a beautiful love story," Yeston told Theatre.com, "about everything you wouldn’t expect from a story having that title: Love, life, romance and dreams. It's a story about life, and how wonderful life is."
Sounds very sweet : )
posted at 1/26/2001 10:22:17 PM by Susan Heim | Item Link



Original Oklahoma! Star Comes Out of Our Dreams and Into Follies by Michael Buckley
As if we needed another reason to see Follies!
posted at 1/26/2001 05:49:49 PM by Matthew Murray | Item Link



Work Delayed on New Times Square TKTS Booth

John Lithgow to star in Hamlisch's Broadway Sweet Smell of Success
posted at 1/26/2001 04:23:02 PM by Susan Heim | Item Link



Revising Stewart by Ken Mandelbaum
posted at 1/26/2001 01:30:54 PM by Matthew Murray | Item Link



Neil Simon may have a new play on Broadway as early as next year, 45 Seconds From Broadway!
The setting - based on the Cafe Edison, The Characters - drawn from the real life theatre community. This sounds like a great comedy and a MUST see. Can you imagine the talk of just "who" those real life theatre people are?

45 Seconds From Broadway, May open in Fall!
posted at 1/26/2001 01:07:33 PM by Susan Heim | Item Link



Ricky Ian Gordon Album, Featuring Audra McDonald, Due in Stories Feb. 20
Nonesuch records has released albums by Audra McDonald, Adam Guettel, and now Ricky Ian Gordon (not to mention the great series of Gershwin recordings from the early 90s). So why has their website been in a holding pattern for the last nine months or so?
posted at 1/26/2001 11:30:37 AM by Bill Jennings | Item Link



Behind the Scenes at Ovations!
A backstage diary (with photos) for next week's concert production of "Promises, Promises" with George Hearn and Jason Graae in Chicago.
The best thing about show websites are the production diaries.
posted at 1/26/2001 10:55:00 AM by Bill Jennings | Item Link



All That Chat! - Mack & Mabel theatre situation
Interesting analysis of this mini booking jam here... I'm sure everyone has their own opinions about this particular dilemma--I know I do. Here's some more food for thought.
posted at 1/26/2001 10:38:59 AM by Matthew Murray | Item Link



Reba McIntire Gets Her Gun

Ben Vereen Joins Cast of "Fosse"
Big day for replacements today, I guess. Rosie's not the only one being brought in to beat winter box office blahs ;)

Not exactly newsworthy, but a great story....
posted at 1/26/2001 09:27:39 AM by Jennifer | Item Link



"The Manhattan Ensemble Theater opens its doors in SoHo with a completely overhauled 140-seat house --created with the help of a $500,000 nest egg -- and plans to give the literary classics a new adaptation and airing onstage."
posted at 1/26/2001 09:17:08 AM by Susan Heim | Item Link



On Stage and Off
Hedda, Simon, and a baby
posted at 1/26/2001 09:09:57 AM by the other James | Item Link



The Full Monty Gives Its All for Actors' Fund, Feb. 25
posted at 1/26/2001 08:06:12 AM by Susan Heim | Item Link



'Dirty Blonde': Watching a New Mae West Try On That Sashay by Ben Brantley
posted at 1/26/2001 06:36:52 AM by Matthew Murray | Item Link



Lessons of the Season #5 by Ken Mandelbaum
posted at 1/26/2001 06:33:57 AM by Matthew Murray | Item Link



Carmen Jones is Comin' by Peter Filichia
posted at 1/26/2001 06:30:23 AM by Matthew Murray | Item Link



On this date in 1784, Benjamin Franklin provided the basis for a joke in 1776. On this date in 1988, The Phantom of the Opera opened at Broadway's Majestic Theater.
posted at 1/26/2001 06:24:27 AM by Matthew Murray | Item Link



Regarding the blind e-mail below... Well, I'm sure everyone who has seen Rosie's appearance in The Seussical will have very strong feelings about that! I know I do!
posted at 1/26/2001 06:21:25 AM by Matthew Murray | Item Link



Blind email received:
Fran and Barry took Rosie for dinner last night at Ruby Foo's restuarant in Times Square. They talked business, including having Rosie return to Suessical from early March through the Tonys. She is taking at least two weeks off from the show, in part to go to Florida with her TV show. She would NOT be a permanent replacement, though, and another star (i.e. not Herr Shiner) would take over for at least the summer. Plus, in all likelihood, she will reduce to 5 perfs a week. Not a bad gig, is it, Bryan Batt?
posted at 1/26/2001 05:24:50 AM by James Marino | Item Link



Your fabulous interviewer is back with another piece for Fynsworth Alley - I spoke with Philip Bosco last week about his trip to Copenhagen. Check it out.
posted at 1/26/2001 12:23:11 AM by Catherine Skidmore | Item Link

Thursday, January 25, 2001

A new Annie and a new Dirty Blonde.
Kathy Nijimy has been appearing since January 9, but tonight was her opening night; Reba's first performance is tomorrow.


Ben Vereen Guests on tonght's Theater Talk
Also local reviewers comment on the upcoming season.

The New York Road Runners Club announced that the NYC Marathon will serve as the US Championship.
How Does This Affect Me? It means that there will be a larger presence of American runners on the line this November...another crowd of runners who will finish before me and any of James' recording artists who might be running this year.
posted at 1/25/2001 10:42:44 PM by the other James | Item Link



Hello from London. Yes, we love easyEverything.com internet cafe here High Street Kensington... just got back from Merrily We Roll Along at Donmar. We were gracious guests of our friends at Dress Circle who are arranging tickets for The Beautiful Game tomorrow. Back to Merrily; I had never seen a production before, just listened to the CD. There is so much more to the show than the great Sondheim music. There is a real story here, an important one to those in all walks of life and not just the arts. I was blown away by the direction and a few performances in this production. It is easy to see why this is a hard to get West End ticket.

I want to thank everyone for keeping the site interesting while I am away. And Robbie, don't limit Reidel by saying that The Seussical cast calls him Satan, everyone calls him Satan. 'cept me, of course.

I think I fixed the funky-font thing happening when we switched over the other day. Let me know if I have created new problems...
posted at 1/25/2001 08:25:23 PM by James Marino | Item Link



After reading Jennifer's comments below about Mack and Mabel, I'm forced to wonder which theater it will go into. Hmm...
posted at 1/25/2001 07:18:05 PM by Matthew Murray | Item Link



Broadway Bears IV, Annual One-Night-Only Auction to Benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.....Sunday, February 11
Check out the cute Les Miz Bear on page D, sans towel!
Hey theatre boy, how's London? : )
posted at 1/25/2001 06:19:49 PM by Susan Heim | Item Link



Rude theatregoers are harrassed in Philadelphia.
Frankly, it's about time. I was at Phantom last night with an entire row of crinkly candy wrappers, it seemed. And the French people behind us who kept talking to each other during the applause breaks. I did turn around and shush them, but it didn't really help. Perhaps the French have a different word for "shhh."
posted at 1/25/2001 06:00:37 PM by Catherine Skidmore | Item Link



Mmm, speaking of nearly naked people in Les Miz towels, I wonder how James is doing over in London.
posted at 1/25/2001 05:17:52 PM by Catherine Skidmore | Item Link



Bill Irwin To Design Silent Sequences for "Mack and Mabel"
The more important part of this article, to me, was the official word that "Mack and Mabel" is coming to Broadway with Doug Sills and Jane Krakowski...
posted at 1/25/2001 03:14:35 PM by Jennifer | Item Link



ARTS MAY BLOSSOM IN FIRST LADY'S CARE
I think the question here would be, is she a fan of musical theatre?
posted at 1/25/2001 12:40:27 PM by Susan Heim | Item Link



A Match Made In Heaven: Composer Ricky Ian Gordon talks about making beautiful music with the poetry of Langston Hughes by Brooke Pierce
The new breed of "post-modern" composers like Gordon, Michael John LaChiusa, Andrew Lippa, Jason Robert Brown, Adam Guettel, and many others offers almost ironclad proof that the musical theatre isn't dead, or even dying. If our concept of a musical isn't exactly the same now as it was thirty or forty years ago, is that a bad thing? I don't think so--as long as musical theatre continues to change and evolve, it will always be alive. Personally, I think it's only a matter of time until each composer gets his or her due.
posted at 1/25/2001 11:09:58 AM by Matthew Murray | Item Link



Catching up with a Long-Run Hit by Peter Filichia

posted at 1/25/2001 10:52:02 AM by Matthew Murray | Item Link



First, thanks to the great instructions that fellow guest columnist Bill sent out.

Lobby Cast Announced on Broadway.com
I guess we know who the folks at Playwrights Horizon want to win the Oscar.

OB's Cobb Now in Final Innings on Playbill.com I've been meaning to see this, but....

I saw the Play about the Baby last night.....or did I? My first exposure to Albee, so I didn't know what to expect. It was certainly entertaining and interesting, but I'm not sure what it meant. I do have a guess, but maybe it's not supposed to mean anything. Marian Seldes is possibly the most elegant woman on the planet. Penalty points for unnecessary nakedness. Let's keep nudity where it belongs....on Temptation Island.....and Les Miz towel ads.

Also, here's a little hint to rude theatergoers. If by some chance you are late for Act I (it happens), please make an extra effort to return to your seat before Act II begins. Especially if you are sitting in the third row.
posted at 1/25/2001 08:57:58 AM by the other James | Item Link



Alice Ripley, Anthony Rapp and Sean McCourt form a threesome at the Cutting Room Jan. 25.
The three Broadway performers will sing their own tunes for the Sh-K-Boom Room series.
posted at 1/25/2001 08:10:15 AM by Susan Heim | Item Link



I'm Going Home by Ken Mandelbaum
posted at 1/25/2001 06:28:52 AM by Matthew Murray | Item Link



Today's birthdays include: Dean Jones and Virginia Woolf.
posted at 1/25/2001 06:16:25 AM by Matthew Murray | Item Link

Wednesday, January 24, 2001

Lonny Price Brings CLASS to Broadway (and Does It MERRILY) by Michael Buckley

PRESENT: Is it true, I ask Lonny Price, that Rosie O'Donnell is joining the cast of A CLASS ACT? "Yes, "he says, with a wide grin. "She's playing my part. And I'm delighted! I can't wait to see her."
What a funny guy!
posted at 1/24/2001 11:14:26 PM by Susan Heim | Item Link



New Role Is Old Hat For A Changed Man

Michael Reidel (or "Satan," as the Suessical cast refers to him) forgoes his usual Wednesday Broadway gossip column for an interview with Ben Vereen, who is joining the cast of Fosse on Friday.
posted at 1/24/2001 10:31:20 PM by Robbie | Item Link



Great "Hedwig" buzz at Sundance Film Festival. I can't wait to see this movie, since I never got to see the show. It looks like it's gonna be great!
posted at 1/24/2001 09:37:43 PM by Jennifer | Item Link



Seussical Track Samples.....personally, I am looking forward to this CD being released (February 6, so far).
posted at 1/24/2001 01:22:52 PM by the other James | Item Link



Don't forget to check out the Fynsworth Alley Stage Door today, for an interview with Michael Cumpsty of Copenhagen. The interviewer is an incredibly sassy chick who knows her physics! An interview with Philip Bosco will be added later this week.
posted at 1/24/2001 12:36:02 PM by Catherine Skidmore | Item Link



Theatrical Tips for Your Anti-Super Bowl Party!
by Robert Viagas
I like the plan your own half time show idea!
posted at 1/24/2001 12:28:17 PM by Susan Heim | Item Link



Hail Mary Stout! by Peter Filichia
posted at 1/24/2001 11:46:00 AM by Matthew Murray | Item Link



Today's birthdays include: Neil Diamond, Ernest Borgnine and Edith Wharton.

Met Opera Rejects Plan for Renovation of Lincoln Center
The Metropolitan Opera, saying it had not been given a proper role in planning Lincoln Center's $1.5 billion redevelopment, served notice that it was withdrawing from the project and proceeding with its own plans.
Hmmm, sounds like there is going to be some... spirited conversation...

Williams Fined In 'Music' Flap
By Equity standards, $50,000 fee is hefty

Broadway grosses
Biz dips; 'Jane' 306g

Over at the Oliviers

Almeida's moving perf
King's Cross site to house the theater's slate in 2001

Road grosses
B.O. up; 'Stones' 160g

Arena Stage Guys and Dolls to Tour U.S. Starting Fall 2001; Goal Is Bway

Broadway Remembers "The Dancing Man": Peter Gennaro by Michael Buckley

From Napoleon to Lili by Ken Mandelbaum

Elaine Stritch by Adam Feldman

Footlights giveaway!!

Well I am out of here! Off to London with tickets to see Merrily at Donmar for Thursday night. Be good to my guest columnists and if my plane crashes, write nice things about me.
- James
posted at 1/24/2001 07:05:21 AM by James Marino | Item Link

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