As it was at the overture and shall be at the exit music, bliss without end. Amen.

Theatre Aficionado at Large

‘It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s Superman’ @ Encores!

Superman-01

There’s a moment in the finale of It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman in which the company sings (and I quote) “A-wah-o-wah-o-wah-o-wah-o.” This nonsensical lyric, set in one single measure, encapsulates the joyous silliness of the 1966 musical about the Man of Steel, a light-hearted caper in which two-dimensionality is not only allowed, but encouraged. The musical of Superman gently sends up the square Clark Kent/Superman character and ideal, but it is never overtly self-aware or mocking. It’s also a delicious slice of mid-60s nostaglia, with a period sound that bridges the gap between Broadway brass and the pop flavor of the day. Superman is light, effervescent, and…

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Posted on March 27, 2013 at 10:29 pm.
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“Better Nate Than Ever”

better nate than ever

When I was in eighth grade, I went to my first audition. There was going to be a local production of The Sound of Music, and since the film was a big part of my growing up (and just that summer we had visited Salzburg – a sign!), I thought I’d give it a shot. I had never auditioned for anything except solo lines in school concerts and such, and this would be my first attempt at a stage musical. In hindsight, I’m rather amazed how supportive both my parents were. They’re not stage parents and they’re not theatre people, but they dived in without a second thought. We noted the…

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Posted on February 20, 2013 at 6:53 pm.
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‘Cabaret’ – A Tale of Two Sallys

Cabaret Minnelli

Last night I had the great fortune to attend TCM‘s 40th anniversary screening of the film version of Cabaret at the Ziegfeld Theatre on 54th Street. After waiting for what seemed an eternity outside in the frigid temperatures, we were among the last to be let into the theatre for the screening. Several hundred people behind us were sent away (with a Howard Keel DVD set as a sort of consolation prize). I hadn’t intended on going. I do enjoy screenings, but I know how these TCM sponsored events, which are free, are a hot ticket and admittance isn’t guaranteed. I figured on sitting this one out. As it turned…

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Posted on February 1, 2013 at 8:58 pm.
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‘The Mystery of Edwin Drood’ @ Studio 54

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

I once did a book report on The Mystery of Edwin Drood in 8th grade because I procrastinated and it seemed like a good idea at the time. Frankly, I don’t remember much, except that the book was unfinished and I got a good grade. While I haven’t picked up the book since, the novel by Charles Dickens caught my attention once again when I discovered Rupert Holmes’ unique musical adaptation. Since Dickens died leaving half the book unwritten – and leaving no authoritative record of “who did it” – Holmes created a novel concept of having the audience vote to determine the show’s ending. (The original production’s tagline was…

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Posted on January 25, 2013 at 12:00 pm.
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Sunday Night Musings

My 2013 theatergoing started with my first trip to the Metropolitan Opera in about 4 1/2 years. Out of the blue, I got a message from Roxie asking me if I was interested in seeing Turandot and I thought for about a split second before saying yes. Puccini’s music is glorious – ask me some time to tell you about my experiences playing one of Cio-Cio San’s cousins in Madame Butterfly sometime – and this opera intrigued me. I only new the famed “Nessun Dorma,” a showstopper if there ever was one but I was curious since I knew it was Puccini’s final work, and that he died leaving it…

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Posted on January 20, 2013 at 11:53 am.
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The Year of Living Cinematically

Another year of movie watching gone! The same rules for my list like every year: each film was watched in its entirety and an asterisk indicates a film watched for the first time. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) 1/2 The Third Man (1949) 1/3 The Goonies (1985) 1/5 *Super 8 (2011) 1/13 Carol Channing: Larger Than Life (2011) 1/16 Auntie Mame (1958) 1/19 The Last Metro (1980) 1/20 *Haywire (2012) 1/20 Howards End (1992) 2/1 Annie Hall (1977) 2/3 *Blue Sky (1994) 2/3 *Drive (2011) 2/4 Midnight in Paris (2011) 2/5 *Day for Night (1973) 2/8 To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) 2/9 *The Artist (2011) 2/10 Fanny and Alexander (1982) 2/18 Rebecca…

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Posted on December 31, 2012 at 10:11 pm.
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My Favorite Performances, 2012

Bertie Carvel – Matilda. Hearing Carvel’s performance on the original cast recording was my main impetus in making sure I got to London to see the show while he was still in the cast. As Agatha Trunchbull, the grotesque headmistress at war with Matilda Wormwood, Carvel creates one of the great comic villains in music theatre, a domineering physical presence whose second act anti-child number “The Smell of Rebellion” is a show-stopper. There are panto elements in the performance, but he plays Miss Trunchbull without winking or leering, showing shades of the insecure bully who resorts to all sorts of nasty business. I’m so thrilled NY will have a chance…

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‘Assassins’ Benefit Concert at Studio 54

Back in 2004, I had made plans to see the 5-time Tony-winning revival of Weidman and Sondheim’s Assassins just after Roundabout announced an extension through the fall. Within a couple of weeks, the extension was rescinded and I ended up not being able to get there. Whenever the production was mentioned in conversation over the next 8 years, I felt a slight tinge of regret – something I don’t feel very often when I don’t see a particular show. I had been an admirer of the original off-Broadway cast album, and found Sondheim’s exploration into the psyche of assassins and would-be assassins compelling, chilling and ultimately fascinating. So I often kicked…

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Posted on December 6, 2012 at 12:23 am.
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Show Round-Up

Annie - I caught an early preview of the classic Strouse-Charnin musical at the Palace. I have a dubious history with this one; the last time I saw it onstage was 21 years ago and while I don’t remember much, I wanted Hannigan to win. Fortunately that was not the case in this new production directed by James Lapine and choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler. Katie Finneran holds nothing back as Miss Hannigan, but the performance hadn’t quite gelled when I saw the show, and it didn’t help that her Rooster and Lily are barely there (and what’s up with Lily’s accent? Not cool, kids). Lilla Crawford has great sincerity and a…

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Posted on November 21, 2012 at 12:32 am.
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A place where I can rant and rave about theatre,
theatre history, plus books, film and anything
else that strikes me as entertaining, interesting
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director of the Independent Theater Bloggers Association.

Photo by Kari Geltemeyer

Walking Among My Yesterdays

2013

1/7 - Turandot (Met Opera)

1/22 - The Mystery of Edwin Drood

1/27 - Renée Fleming & Susan Graham (Carnegie Hall)

2/3 - Fiorello! (Encores!)

2/7 - My Name is Asher Lev

2/19 - Rigoletto (Met Opera)

2/21 - Passion (Classic Stage Company)

2/23 - Much Ado About Nothing (Theatre for a New Audience)

2/27 - Carousel (NY Philharmonic)

3/1 - Carousel (NY Philharmonic)

3/4 - Matilda (first preview)

3/7 - Ann (opening night)

3/24 - It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman (Encores!)

4/18 - One Man, Two Guvnors (West End)

4/19 - Once (West End)

4/20 - Darling of the Day (The Union Theatre, London)

4/22 - The Audience (West End)

4/23 - Top Hat (West End)

4/23 - Merrily We Roll Along (West End)

4/30 - Song of Norway (Collegiate Chorale)

5/12 - Bull

5/12 - On Your Toes (Encores!)

6/5 - Matilda

6/10 - Nice Work If You Can Get It

6/11 - Matilda

Walking Among My Yesterdays

2012

1/17 - If It Only Even Runs a Minute 8

1/22 - Follies (closing)

2/11 - Merrily We Roll Along (Encores!)

2/15 - Carrie (MCC)

2/27 - Death of a Salesman

3/12 - I Miss the City: The Music of Alan Schmuckler (Joe's Pub)

3/14 - Wit

3/15 - Venus in Fur

3/18 - Once (opening night)

3/22 - Matilda (West End)

3/24 - Matilda (West End)

3/25 - Rebecca Caine: No, No, Cosette! (Pheasantry - London)

3/26 - Sweeney Todd (West End) 

4/1 - Pipe Dream (Encores!)

4/10 - The Mikado (Collegiate Chorale)

4/12 - The Book of Mormon

4/18 - One Man, Two Guvnors (opening night) 

4/20 - Clybourne Park

4/23 - Nice Work If You Can Get It

4/24 - The Sound of Music (Carnegie Hall)

4/25 - Leap of Faith

4/26 - Now. Here. This.

5/11 - The Best Man

5/13 - Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Encores!)

6/7 - Porgy and Bess

6/12 - One Man, Two Guvnors

6/13 - Other Desert Cities

6/17 - Don't Dress for Dinner (closing)

6/26 - Peter and the Starcatcher

7/1 - The Lyons (closing)

7/2 - Ed Dixon: Secrets of a Life Onstage & Off (Metropolitan Room)

7/3 - Evita

7/23 - Uncle Vanya (Sydney Theatre Company @ Lincoln Center Festival)

7/27 - Into the Woods (Delacorte Theatre)

8/6 - Into the Woods (Delacorte Theatre)

8/24 - Into the Woods (Delacorte Theatre)

8/26 - Nice Work If You Can Get It

9/2 - One Man, Two Guvnors (closing) 

9/27 - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

10/1 - Man with a Load of Mischief

10/11 - Annie

10/18 - Barbara Cook's 85th Birthday Concert (Carnegie Hall)

11/9 - The Performers

11/11 - Giant

11/12 - Encores! 20th Anniversary Gala

12/3 - Assassins (Reunion Concert at Studio 54)

12/3 - Rebecca Cast Christmas Party

12/19 - A Christmas Story

12/19 - Elf

12/30 - Michael Feinstein & Christine Ebersole (Feinstein's)

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