Movie Trailer: “Rabbit Hole”

Oh, I wish I had seen this play during its Broadway run. Starring Cynthia Nixon and Tyne Daly, Rabbit Hole is a unique portrait of a family in grief. Nixon and John Slattery play a suburban couple whose young son was killed in an accident, and both react in different ways in the aftermath. John Gallagher Jr and Mary Catherine Garrison rounded out the five-hander at the Biltmore (now Friedman). Since it was an MTC production, it was a limited engagement but that didn’t keep David Lindsay-Abaire‘s play from walking away with the Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as the Best Actress Tony for Nixon.

Now it’s been made into a film directed by John Cameron Mitchell with Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart as the grieving couple. (Lindsay-Abaire adapted his own play for the screen). The movie had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last month to generally strong reviews, and all-out raves for Kidman’s performance (who’s already garnering early Oscar buzz). Dianne Wiest, Sandra Oh and Tammy Blanchard are also part of the cast. Its success at TIFF led to a deal with Lionsgate for theatrical release this fall. There were some clips released around its premiere, but here is a new trailer.

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Will “Lombardi” Score a Touchdown on Broadway?

Before seeing the final performance of Patti LuPone’s Gypsy, the bloggers who brunch gathered at Thalia’s for another one of our Algonquinesque gatherings. As always, we met knew friends, caught up with old ones and this time we were particularly curious to talk about the “Penultimate Patti” episode at the previous evening’s performance of the Great American Musical. After brunch, we made our way down to the Marriot Marquis where we decided to continue the party at the Atrium. While we were sitting around with our morning libations, I couldn’t help but notice that the Giants-Eagles game was on the big screen TV above my friends’ heads. While we talked, I found myself constantly getting distracted by the events onscreen. Then when the Giants scored, all hell broke loose as I couldn’t contain my excitement bringing about looks of surprise from the others at the table.

I’ve come to realize that it’s rather a lonesome existence being both a sports and theatre fan. There aren’t too many people out there who are both. I know there are, of course, but it’s rather difficult talking sports to theatre people and theatre with sports people. When I was college, I was met with considerable scorn from some theatre students when I said that I spent my Sundays watching football with my housemates or that I was hoping the Yankees would win another World Series. Until recently, it seemed to me that most of the theatre people I knew or surrounded myself with seemed to dismiss organized sports of any kind. Even my college voice teacher thought it was insane that I’d watch the Super Bowl. It just seemed to me if you liked sports and you were involved with theatre, it was better just to keep that information to yourself.

On the other hand, and much to my amazement, my housemates and friends who weren’t involved in theatre – and were far greater sports devotees than I ever was – were the exact opposite. I would come home from the city, mostly after seeing The Light in the Piazza, and one or more would ask me about the show. Nothing in depth, just seeing if it was good and if I had a good time. You wouldn’t have seen them dropping everything to see Grey Gardens or Spring Awakening, but their interest was genuine.

While football and theatre seem miles apart, I think there are similarities between the two. Fans gather in one location, whether it’s a theatre or a stadium, for a few brief hours of communal enjoyment and entertainment. Neither is as exciting on TV as it is live. There are players, who have worked hard at their craft and are fueled by their adrenaline and discipline to succeed. Then there’s the audience (whether it’s the more subdued big black giant in a Broadway house, or the arena filled with noise, team colors and pride) who is the inactive participant in both realms. Football even plays out with high drama. Each player has a specific role to play on the field. Every play has been carefully rehearsed from every possible angle, there have been practices and drills. When the game starts, however, anything can happen, in a sort of athletic improvisation. Injuries, upsets, energy fueled disasters and comebacks are all possible. The experience is even similar post-show or post-game: spectators walk away with defined opinions, talking about what was good, what was bad and the memorable players involved.

I like to think that my housemates, who would watch three games of football every Sunday,  are a primary target audience for the new Broadway play Lombardi, which opens tonight at the Circle in the Square Theatre. In an unprecedented move, the NFL is making its Broadway debut as a producer of Eric Simonson play about arguably the most famous coach in football history. It seems an unlikely combination and I know there are many wondering whether or not there is an audience for it. (My buddy Linda Buchwald wrote a great piece on Lombardi’s marketing strategies and challenges for TDF). What has been interesting to me; however, is that I have non-theatre friends coming out of the woodwork asking me about the play or excited that it’s happening. Even my father, whose sole Broadway experience was the 2008 revival if South Pacific, has expressed interest in going.

I guess you could say I’m a NY Giants fan by birth. It’s been a team my family has supported for years. My uncle went to elementary school with someone who worked for the team, so he, my father and grandmother regularly attended Sunday home games at Yankee Stadium (for free) and even got to know some of the team players of the 1950s. (My grandmother had a big crush on 20-something Frank Gifford and even started to cry after he was famously tackled by Chuck Bednarik). However, I first became aware of the Green Bay Packers in 1992 while my family was vacationing in Wisconsin while taking in the Great Lakes region. One of our stops was Lambeau Field and the Packer Hall of Fame. Ever since, I’ve had a soft spot for the team, rallying them on in their 1996 Super Bowl win and beyond. My uncle also went to elementary and high school with Bob Hyland, who was a member of the team from 1967-69 and 1976. So there’s long been an interest in the team.

I don’t know what fate awaits Lombardi, but I am curious to see the show. Lombardi is a fascinating, larger than life persona who was known for his work ethic and great success on the field and is still quoted among football fans like scripture.  His popularity was such that legend has it Nixon considered him for Vice President in 1960 (apparently not aware that Vince was Democrat and Kennedy supporter). He led the Green Bay Packers to victory in the first two Super Bowls, and the trophy is named after him making him forever synonymous with the sport. Forty years after his death (of cancer at age 57), he is still one of the most recognized and iconic figures in American sports.

Opening any new play on Broadway is a significant risk and I think everyone involved, or even on the periphery,  is curious to see how this will be received. Plays about football are few and far between; the original Good News from 1927 is the only success that comes readily to mind (even its revival closed in two weeks), so it seems to be an uphill climb. The lobby of the Circle in the Square Theatre has been transformed into a mini Lombardi museum, with sports memorabilia and the unlikeliest of Broadway lobby displays – the Vince Lombardi trophy itself. Football fans have been seen in the theatre, dressing up in Packers’ jerseys. I know there is some hope that theatre first-timers will enjoy the experience enough to come back. Between Mark Sanchez admitting his love of showtunes and appearing on the Tony Awards to this original play, I like to think that we’re bridging a gap.

Is anyone else as interested in see Lombardi as I am?

Tea with Jam and Bread

If there’s one thing that I learned from seeing The Sound of Music on the big screen last night, it’s that I want to see all my favorite classic films in a movie theatre at least once in my life. I’ve seen the movie many, many times – too many to count. But seeing this newly remastered, restored digital version of the film I was able to pick up on nuances and minutiae that were hitherto lost on me. The 1965 classic was shot in the now-defunct 70mm widescreen process Todd-AO, introduced ten years earlier with Oklahoma! It’s one of the most impressive of the large format processes, with a visual crispness I fail to see in Super Panavision 70 or Super Technirama 70. (The anamorphic MGM Camera 65/Ultra Panavision 70 is stunning for its unbelievably wide aspect ratio of 2.76:1). In effect, the pan-and-scan presentations on TV and VHS were depriving audiences of the full audio and visual impact of the film (the same goes for all movies cropped for home video release).

However, it took a while to get to the film itself. While the advertised start time was 6:30, there was literally a full half hour of advertising from presenter NCM Fathom Events, which started bringing about some early audience participation as our collective patience grew thinner and thinner. It’s great that Fathom brings so many live events into movie theatres, but they didn’t have to spend that much time telling us about themselves! My father started muttering “Is this thing ever going to start?”

This was actually the first time I’ve ever gone to the movies with my father. He’s not one for theatre or film, really, but The Sound of Music is one of his favorite things. I’m not entirely sure whether it’s an interest in Julie Andrews, the whole nuns against the Nazis angle or that it contains “Edelweiss,” one of his favorite songs, but every year like clockwork he’d be watching. Now, my father also likes to be a vocal participant and will whisper observations to you even if you’re in church. Needless to say, I had my own secondary audio track to my right as he made whimsically wry commentary about on screen events and pointing out to me places he’d been on our trip to Austria (as though I hadn’t gone). He seemed even more interested in the screening than I did!

Finally, the lights went down and the screen came up on a brand new documentary “I’ll Sing Once More” featuring interviews about the show/film’s legacy as well as the Blu-ray upgrade. The new short is narrated by Rebecca Luker, who starred in the 1998 Broadway revival as well as Laura Benanti, who was Luker’s understudy and replacement (and bears an striking resemblance to young Charmian Carr). Bert Fink, from the R&H Organization talks a great deal about the show’s cultural impact. 20th Century Fox’s archival guru Schawn Belston gives an insightful analysis on the nuts and bolts of digital restoration for the upcoming Blu-Ray.

Finally, 45 minutes after the houselights went down, the silent 20th Century Fox logo appeared. In an instant we were soaring over Austria, as the sounds of mountain winds gave way to the underscoring slowly building to that iconic shot of Julie Andrews twirling on the hilltop. The visual image was staggering, particularly the aerial shot of the MCS70 camera panning around the side of the mountain, revealing the glorious Austrian landscape. Within those moments, I knew how much more it meant to see the film how it was originally presented in its large format, big screen glory.

I’m not one for the sing-along experience, so even though I knew what sort of evening we were in for I was still jarred at seeing the lyrics projected on the screen as Julie Andrews started singing. It was something that proved more distracting for me personally – I know the score and its lyrics well enough where I didn’t need the help. But at least they’ve done away with the idea of the Mitch Miller bouncing ball. There wasn’t much singing going on though. There were 15 of us in the large movie house, spread out all over the place. After “Maria,” a daring gentleman called on us to get involved and we did through some of the more genial crowd pleasers (if I had known we were going to be singing, I’d have done a warm up!) but we petered out as the film got more serious. I guess he gave up on all of us, as he left as the wedding commenced. During  the Festival sequence while the von Trapps sang the “Do-Re-Mi” reprise, the lyric “tea with jam and bread” and variations thereof appeared so many times we burst out laughing. (Though even 24 hours later, I still can’t get it out of my head).

I started paying closer attention to the visual detail. Even the letters in the opening credits sequence looked clearer and more defined than I’d ever noticed before. In the documentary they talked about blades of grass and clarity of fabric. Now I was seeing such detail in all elements: the wall-paper in the Mother Abbess’ office, the texture of Maria’s habit, beads of water on the actor’s faces. Also, the combination of the big screen presentation and the glorious digital imagery brought out subtleties I’d never seen before, especially evident in Eleanor Parker‘s and Peggy Wood‘s brilliant supporting performances. Until last night I thought the cemetery was wall to wall concrete. With the new print I realized that it’s actually a dirt floor, complete with footprints! Every location shot was especially vivid with color and detail, looking better than I’ve ever seen it before. As for the sound, I was able to hear every single sound effect like footsteps on the pavement and the Irwin Kostal orchestrations sounded richer and fuller than I’d ever heard before.

As for big screen reissues of classic films, I’m all for it. Many of the films I have loved I have never seen on a screen larger than 27 inches. If each and everyone could be brought back like this, I know I’d be there. There is one more screening for next Tuesday, October 26 at 6:30. You can buy your tickets online; it doesn’t matter if you’re late, the movie itself doesn’t start until 7:15. The Blu-ray edition will be out November 2.

“Hard-Hearted Hannah”

My day is filled with adult-like responsibilities (as in getting work) and taking my father to see The Sound of Music at the multiplex this evening. In the meanwhile, here is the inimitable Tony-winning Dorothy Loudon singing the Tin Pan Alley classic “Hard Hearted Hannah (The Vamp of Savannah)” with music by Milton Ager and lyrics from Jack Yellen, Bob Bigelow and Charles Bates on The Merv Griffin Show. Sondheim fans will recognize this from his list of “Songs I Wished I’d Written (At Least in Part)”. The sound cuts out for a bit in the middle, but it does return and Loudon gives the number her requisite big finish.

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“She Loves Me”: An Appreciation

When people find out that I’m an avid theatergoer or that I know a lot about musicals, I get asked “So, what’s your favorite?” It’s not the easiest question to be asked, and the same goes for favorite book (East of Eden? To Kill a Mockingbird?) or movie (The Third Man? The Godfather?). I really don’t know and hate having to make a decision. I try whittling it down and leave myself several options as that remains more indicative of range, taste and interest. However, there are my “top three” that I use as a quick answer: The Light in the Piazza, She Loves Me and Sweeney Todd.

Piazza stems from an intensely personal experience with the show, which I saw 12 times in its original Broadway run. Sweeney Todd is one of the most brilliant and audacious ideas I’ve ever seen executed in a musical, and I got to see it on Broadway in its acclaimed 2005 revival. It’s a slightly different story with She Loves Me: I’ve never seen it live. I’ve watched the 1978 BBC-TV version and I own two versions of the libretto – the original 1963 text and 1993 revision. I have the four English language cast albums, the Viennese cast, two instrumentals plus a live recording of the 1977 Town Hall revival with Madeline Kahn and Barry Bostwick and the composer demo. A few weeks ago I picked up an original playbill at the Broadway Flea Market.

The musical, with a sublime score by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick and a sharp, near-perfect libretto by Joe Masteroff, opened on Broadway in 1963. It was Harold Prince‘s first original directorial project. (He stepped into the troubled A Family Affair after the original director didn’t work out). Officially based on Miklos Laszlo‘s play Parfumerie, you might recognize the plot from the various films inspired by the same source: The Shop Around the Corner, In the Good Old Summertime and You’ve Got Mail. A guy and a girl fight and bicker every time they see each other (in all but You’ve Got Mail, they’re coworkers) and unbeknownst to them they are smitten pen pals who meet through a lonely-hearts ad.

For the musical, Barbara Cook and Daniel Massey were hired to play the at-odds lovers Amalia and Georg. Julie Andrews was originally sought, but due to some filming requirements she was unavailable. She told Prince that if he could wait, she’d do it, but he was adamant about getting the show up and moved on. Rounding out the cast were Nathaniel Frey (who was also part of Prince, Bock & Harnick’s Pulitzer and Tony-winning Fiorello! four years prior), Jack Cassidy, Barbara Baxley, Ludwig Donath and Ralph Williams. Carol Haney provided the musical staging.

The jewel box of a show opened to rave reviews at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre where it ran for 302 performances and folded at a loss, overshadowed by bigger musicals that year. It was nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Musical, but only took home one award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Cassidy, as the lothario). Its original London staging, which featured some changes for the British audiences, lasted 189 performances. Andrews was set to reclaim the role that was almost hers in a film adaptation opposite Dick Van Dyke. However, when film musicals started falling out of favor toward the end of the 1960s, those plans were scrapped.

In spite of its financial failure, the show remained a favorite of musical enthusiasts. The show was revived by Roundabout in 1993 in a highly acclaimed production starring Boyd Gaines (who won a Tony) and Judy Kuhn. The show was popular enough to warrant a commercial transfer, moving to the Brooks Atkinson Theatre for an extended run of 354 performances. However, it once again closed in the red. The Roundabout revival crossed the pond for its first London revival earning Ruthie Henshall an Olivier. The production ran a year, but it too lost money.

So the show doesn’t guarantee coin, but it is, in my estimation, one of the most perfectly constructed musicals ever written and is hugely popular with colleges and regional theatres. I am particularly taken with the characters and how real and three-dimensional they seem, especially George and Amalia. We have a glimpse into two musical theatre characters who aren’t the juvenile and ingenue singing stock platitudes about falling in love. Instead we see two real people, lonely yet lovable, singing of their insecurities and fears and the discovery of falling in love. This charm pervades the other characters; even the cad is somewhat lovable. Out of the numerous variations of Lazslo’s play, this is my favorite (though I enjoy the Lubitsch touch on The Shop Around the Corner).

I first discovered the score in high school, borrowing the original cast CD from the library. In an unusual move for a cast album, MGM Records gave the score a 2-LP set, allowing the entire score to be preserved. This original cast album is one of my all time favorites, with definitive performances and sumptuous original orchestrations by Don Walker, whose charts expertly evoke an Eastern European sound and style. The comic numbers are genuinely funny and honest and Amalia’s ballads are among the best musical theatre material ever written for a soprano. The OBCR is one of those albums I would take with me to that proverbial desert island; one of my holiday traditions is to play the cast album every Christmas Eve (which is the night of the show’s climax). It also preserves one of the most satisfying finales in musical theatre history.

The song that first stood out to me on that first listen turned out to be the most famous song from the score: “Ice Cream.” I’ve cited it before as an example of what I call “Musical Theatre Zen” but it bears repeating that it’s one of the loveliest theatre songs ever written. Amalia, thinking she was jilted by “Dear Friend” (who is naturally Georg, who helped ruin her evening by showing up as himself and antagonizing her), is home sick from work. George comes to apologize, get her to go to work and brings her a carton of vanilla ice cream to cheer her up. Renewed and refreshed, she sets about writing another letter, but is now distracted by this new admiration for her former enemy, culminating on a joyous mock cadenza with high B natural. It came full circle for me in 2003, when I sat third row center at Barbara Cook Sings Mostly Sondheim at the Paramount Center for the Performing Arts in Peekskill, NY. Cook, then 76, sang the song and stopped her show with a flawless interpretation – and in the original key too. (This song and “Tell Me I Look Nice” which was cut out of town made Sondheim’s list of songs he wished he had written).

I’d love to see a NY revival of the musical. Even though it was last seen on Broadway in 1994, I think audiences would once again welcome the show with open arms. A current Chicago production once again brought the piece raves. It would be nice to see this charming musical brought back to Broadway for another generation. Or just for me.

Alexis Smith in “Platinum”

Alexis Smith found her stardom renewed when she created the role of Phyllis Rogers Stone in the landmark original Broadway production of Follies. Magazine covers, interviews and a Tony Award awaited the former Warner Bros player, who was subjected to projects rejected by Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. The success was such that the non-singing star was suddenly finding a second career in musicals, including stock productions of Pal Joey and Applause, playing similar personalities. However, after Follies, she only appeared in one more Broadway musical.

Platinum was a disco-era musical about a movie star of the 40s and 50s who decides to make a comeback in the music industry in the 1970s. The score was written by Gary William Friedman and Will Holt, who had a hit with The Me Nobody Knows. The book was originally written by Louis LaRusso II and the whole production was staged by Tommy Tune. The show’s premiere under the title Sunset was at the Studio Arena Theatre in Buffalo in 1977. Richard Cox costarred as a younger rock star on his way down and major love interest.

With a new book by Holt and Bruce Vilanch, with new direction/choreography from Joe Layton, the rechristened Platinum opened on Broadway at the Mark Hellinger Theatre. The day of the Broadway opening, the cast appeared on The Merv Griffin Show. Lisa Mordente (daughter of Chita Rivera) and Cox performed “Sunset City.” Then Smith sat down for a chat with Merv, Ethel Merman and Shelley Winters, a motley crew (and it’s especially amusing watching Winters hijack the conversation to talk about her upcoming role in the TV movie Elvis). All three ladies to share a common bond – they were all the sole, above the title billed star of a major Broadway musical (Winters starred in the short-lived Minnie’s Boys). While Griffin touted the show as the next big thing, it was eviscerated by the critics and closed after 33 performances. Smith did receive great notices from the critics as well as a Tony nomination, but her future musical theatre work was in concerts and stock tours. Here’s that opening night appearance with Merv Griffin.

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But Platinum refuses to die. The show was revised in the early 80s and was revived off-Broadway in 1983 with Tammy Grimes under the new title Sunset. That production closed on opening night. This summer Ben West and his UnsungMusicalsCo, who brought us How Now Dow Jones last summer, gave the show another chance at this year’s Fringe Festival. Smith herself revisited the show in 1982 when she sang her big opening number “Nothing But” at the Kennedy Center:

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Our Best Girl

“Light the candles!
Get the ice out!
Roll the rug up!
It’s today!”

It’s not quite the first of the year but it is somebody’s birthday and, boy is there history in it! The one and only Angela Lansbury turns 85 today. The five-time Tony winner, whose 66 year career runs the gamut from film to Broadway to television (and back again), is one of our true international treasures. Thanks to the mammoth success of Murder She Wrote, somewhere in the world at this very minute, Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher is hard at work solving a murder. But that doesn’t begin to define the well-rounded and unprecedented career that Lansbury has experienced.

Like her peers Betty White and Cloris Leachman, Ms. Lansbury has proven that it’s never too late for anything, which is especially evident in her three Broadway outings in the last three years. Lansbury is immediately recognizable and one-of-a-kind: those large, warm eyes and that sparkling crystal-clear speaking and singing voice, which is unlike any other voice we’ve ever heard. The career has maintained its longevity due to Lansbury’s immense range and versatility, with success in comedy, drama, and musical theatre.

While I often spend much of my time espousing her showstopper of a Broadway career, my personal favorite of her performances is Mrs. Iselin from The Manchurian Candidate, which is the greatest role she ever had on film. The first time I watched, I was staggered. Lansbury (who spent many years before Broadway playing a lot of mothers) was captivating in the way she created the character and her acting reflects a gritty realism and honesty that allows her to walk away with the film. Whenever her character is on screen, you cannot stop watching her. She’s the most interesting, fascinating and unsettling character and it’s a mesmerizing experience. The performance is riveting and one which in hindsight should have won the Academy Award. (She took home the Golden Globe, but lost the Oscar to Patty Duke in The Miracle Worker. I’ll give you a moment to think about that). Here’s a quick sample:

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It’s a mindblowing performance (and if you haven’t seen the film, you’ll be staggered by what she does next in that scene) and I hope that there’s another memorable film role left for her to play. I’ve been there for Lansbury’s final performances in Blithe Spirit and A Little Night Music, and there’s been an unspoken but nostalgic and warm vibe from many that “this could be the final Broadway bow.” However, I don’t think that’s the case. I’m looking forward to see what she picks for the fourth show in her late-career renaissance on Broadway.

Now to celebrate is Ms. Lansbury herself, leading the revival cast of Mame in a song that’s just pure joy: “It’s Today”:

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“The Scottsboro Boys”: A Story to Tell

This is hands down the best TV commercial for a Broadway show I’ve seen in quite a while. One of the topics Stage Rush’s Jesse North and I discussed after the first preview of The Scottsboro Boys (but not on-air) was the show’s marketability. With a tough storyline, hard-hitting concept and all around edginess, this isn’t your ordinary, everyday family/theme park musical. The show’s team has done exemplary work on this 30 second spot. Needless to say, one look at this commercial and I want to see it again. Also, the original off-Broadway cast recording was released by Jay Records this week and is a must-have.

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Win a pair of tickets to see “The Sound of Music” on the big screen

I’m excited to announce my blog’s first ever giveaway! The Sound of Music has turned 45 with a new high definition print and the Blu-ray release on November 2. The perennial classic will return to movie theatres across the country in the first national reissue since 1973. I’ll be heading to one of the 500 theatres for the screening, which includes a sing-along version of the film as well as a pre-film featurette And I’ll Sing Once More, narrated by Rebecca Luker (who played Maria in the 1998 Broadway revival) and features new interviews with Ted Chapin and Mary Rodgers.

There will be two separate screenings: Tuesday, October 19 & Tuesday, October 26. I am pleased to announce that I have a pair of tickets to the Oct. 26 screening to give away. (This is all very new to me and quite exciting!)

Two ways in which to enter:

1. Comment on the post below or,

2. Follow me on Twitter (@kevinddaly) and retweet anything I post related to the The Sound of Music contest.

One winner be selected at random when the contest ends (Sunday night at midnight). Two entries allowed per person; one via each method. Any additional entries will lead to disqualification. If you choose to enter via twitter, I need you to follow so I can direct message you. I will notify the winner Monday morning; tickets will be mailed directly to the individual.

For more information, you can visit The Sound of Music 45th Anniversary website. For a list of participating theatres and tickets, check out the Fathom Events website.