Theatre Aficionado at Large – Page 98 – As it was at the overture and shall be at the exit music, bliss without end. Amen.

Happy "August: Osage County" Day!

Mayor Bloomberg has officially proclaimed today “August: Osage County Day” in NYC in honor of its 300th performance, being accorded to today’s matinee.

As per the proclamation, the play has “yielded tremendous cultural and economic benefits for” New York City and has “reaffirmed New York’s proud heritage of welcoming the world’s boldest, most powerful works of art.”

However, the powers that be are cheating a little. According to the tally at ibdb.com today’s matinee is the show’s 282nd, meaning they are counting the 18 previews. There is a reason there is an official opening night. Or is there anymore? Oh well. I’m just truth-telling… 😉

Also here is a great profile on the great Amy Morton who is still giving NY audiences her powerhouse performance as Barbara Weston Fordham in the acclaimed hit (but only for a little while longer, folks. Soon the original cast will be off to London for its UK premiere at the National in the fall).

The quote of the day, from Ms. Morton:

“It’s like when you open up Long Day’s Journey Into Night or some great American play, and you see the original cast listing, and you go, ‘Wow, that must have been something.’ I get to have my name in there! I’m never going to get a part like this again in my life. I mean this in the most positive way: It’s all downhill from here.”

"Bounce" retitled "Road Show"

The little Sondheim musical that could, Bounce, is being resurrected in a yet another revision that will play the Public Theatre fall under the title Road Show (the book is from the pen of John Weidman). The show (which is on its fourth title; early workshops include Wise Guys and Gold!) is now under the direction of Tony-winner John Doyle and will star Sondheim regulars Michael Cerveris (Assassins, Sweeney Todd) and Alexander Gemignani (Assassins, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park With George). Tickets go onsale to the general public on October 12, with a first preview date set for October 28 and an opening night of November 18. The show will run at the Public’s Newman Theatre through December 28.

In an exclusive commentary with Playbill.com, Mr. Sondheim explains the dramaturgical reasons behind the new title. It sounds very interesting to hear the gestation process of this long-in-development musical. It’s also great that New York will be getting its first fully original Sondheim score in 14 years.

Quote of the Day

From Charles Isherwood’s piece in today’s Times about movie musical adaptations (more specifically, his reactions to Mamma Mia!):

“And, most promisingly, a small movie coming out of nowhere managed to make the old-school conventions of musical theater bloom naturally in a strictly realistic, indeed even grungy environment. The indie movie “Once,” which ultimately won an Oscar for best original song this year, depicts a romance between two street musicians in Dublin. The scruffy Irish protagonist and his Czech girlfriend glide into their music with the ease of Fred and Ginger wafting onto the dance floor, reminding us that at its best, onstage or at the movies, the marriage of music and drama feels not just natural but inevitable.”

I have to agree. For my money, Once is the best new movie musical I’ve seen in some time.

"Ethel Mae Potter… we never forgot her"

This is a clip from one of my all-time favorite episodes of “I Love Lucy.” The fourth season of the classic sitcom dealt with Ricky getting a movie deal with MGM and driving out west to Hollywood for his big screen debut. The season opened up a great many guest spots to the likes of John Wayne, Van Johnson, Rock Hudson, Harpo Marx and probably most infamously, William Holden (and the legendary burning nose moment). This episode has the gang driving to Ethel’s home town of Albequerque, New Mexico (which incidentally was Vivian Vance’s real home town). When they arrive, the town believes that Ethel is the one going out to be a movie star. She lets it get to her head, so much so that in a rare moment, Lucy schemes with Ricky and Fred to teach her a lesson during her recital (which also allowed Vance, a Broadway performer with credits including the original productions of Music in the Air, Anything Goes, Red Hot and Blue and Hooray for What!, the opportunity to display her considerable vocal talents). The hilarity follows:

A Little Love on the Way

Call me Uncle Lindsay. In one of the happiest posts I think I’ll ever make, I am thrilled to announce that I am going to become an uncle for the first time early next year. So come winter time, I hope I can finagle myself into a trip to the Philippines for the joyous event.

Chita and Dick Van Dyke in "The Dancer’s Life"

After I found “The Shriner Ballet,” I found this. Delightful is the word. Enjoy.

The Shriner Ballet

Chita Rivera recreates the original Gower Champion choreography for Bye Bye Birdie for “The Shriner’s Ballet” with the American Dance Machine for a special called “That’s Singing, The Best of Broadway.” Rivera was Tony-nominated for her performance in the original production, in the featured actress category, but lost to Tammy Grimes who was “featured” in The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Wasn’t that above the title billing nonsense a bit ridiculous?

Upcoming DVDs of Note

Here are some upcoming DVD releases coming this fall. The first two mark long-awaited remastered special editions of An American in Paris and Gigi, two Best Picture Oscar winning classics from legendary director Vincente Minnelli. Then there’s the DVD debut of another The Picture of Dorian Gray featuring Angela Lansbury in her second Oscar nominated role. Plus, you’ve got a new expanded issue of L.A. Confidential, one of the best films of the last fifteen years. And my blog wouldn’t be complete without including Keeping Up Appearances: The Full Bouquet, a special edition re-release of the entire series that starred the irrepressible Patricia Routledge. You can click on each one for more info.

Quote of the Day

Here’s one of the best ideas I’ve heard in a long time:

‘Virtually every theater makes a pre-show announcement about turning off cell phones, beepers and watch alarms. Soon after, the audience delivers the first laugh of the night, after a disembodied voice tells them to unwrap their candies now.

But here, at Ohio Light Opera in Wooster, there’s an announcement I’ve never heard, but one that hits the spot: “And please don’t talk during the overture.”’

Peter Filichia’s blog on the Ohio Light Opera’s production of Marinka