Fame or Famine

Everyone was happy and excited for Bailey Hanks, winner of MTV’s Legally Blonde reality competition. She beat out the other legal blondes and landed her leading role, which she premiered last Wednesday. The other contestants went home, heads hung low, bitter and defeated, right?
Well, not so much.
Surprise! You’ve Got Contracts!
As it turned out, the producers had jobs in mind for all four of the top contestants in the show.

Rhiannon Hansen will play Margot, Elle’s best friend, in the touring company of Legally Blonde
Autumn Hurlbert will join the Broadway cast as Elle’s understudy
Lauren Zakrin will not only join the touring company …read more

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One of the most prolific and amazing writers I know, who I am also lucky enough to have met a time or two, is Scott Sigler. He’s not, as far as I know, terribly musically inclined, even when he’s looking a lot like Elton John back in his feather-boa-and-big-glasses days. But he is also a writer for A&E online, specifically in their horror genre.
What does this have to do with the performing arts? Why, I’m glad you asked…
Everything’s Coming Up Musicals
I’ve written here before about the Creature From the Black Lagoon as a musical. But did you know there are …read more

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Avenue Q (winner of the 2004 Tony for Best Musical) has been making the rounds of my friends of late. I confess to being kind of surprised that it took them so long; my friends, even the ones not from NYC, tend to be pretty aware of current issues and trends, and the Sesame Street parody for Generation X is all about that.
More Than GenX
I got introduced to it by my daughter, believe it or not, who is as big a Renthead as you can get. The producers of Rent, along with composers/lyricists Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, put …read more

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If you’re in the Chicago area, you could do a lot worse than to get to the Bohemian Theatre Ensemble’s rendition of Jekyll & Hyde. Now, some of you who have heard about this musical version of one of the more terrifying stories ever told might be sceptical, and rightly so. The original musical (with David Hasselhoff) suffered some…well, let’s be generous and just say that it wasn’t all that it could have been.
OK, actually it (reputedly) suffered reviews such as “pervasive lack of characterization” or a score that “doesn’t enhance the story.” It had a “try-out” period that was …read more

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Ever wanted a chance to ask a member of the High School Musical a question? You can have it now, over at the Mercury News . They will be hosting an online chat with the star of the touring company of the hit Disney Show.
Ariell Jacobs as Gabriella Montez
Though the role was originated on TV by Vanessa Hudgens, the nerdy star of the broadway show has been aptly originated by Arielle Jacobs. Considering how much HSM has become a worldwide phenomenon, in some ways her job as part of the touring company is even harder, bringing the show to a …read more

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I’m very excited to read that the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis is going to host the premiere of the new musical Little House on the Prairie. Directed by Francesca Zambello, it’s a re-telling of the classic 70’s television show.
Melissa Gilbert: Typecasting or Resource?
I find myself questioning the casting of Melissa Gilbert in the role of “Ma Ingalls” – not because I doubt her abilities as an actress, but more because there is quite a difference between acting – even on a stage – and performing in a musical. She has more than enough cred with “straight plays”: A Shayna Maidel …read more

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Over the weekend I traveled to and from Minnesota, about a 5 hour drive, with a friend to attend a lecture on performance art. For those of you lucky coasties, the land of northern Wisconsin this time of year is less than exciting – sort of a gray slushy mess.
However, we had my iPod, and discovered a mutual love for belting out songs from musicals, occasionally even with her alto complementing my baritone.
Here are our top 5 Road Music Musicals.

Moulin Rouge (not technically broadway, but still fun, especially for duets)
The Pirates of Penzance
Phantom of the Opera
Les Mis (more hers than …read more

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or, : From Broadway to Virginia to Melbourne to Hometown, USA in search of a Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
I had expected to write, today, about the revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, featuring Tony-award winning actors such as Phylicia Rashad, James Earl Jones, and Anika Noni Rose (all of whom are also TV and movie stars, but it does my luddite heart good to only list them as being paragons of the theatre). It’s a production that has sparked some controversy due to the cast being entirely African American. However, living in the midwest, I can’t …read more

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PULP, a musical spoofing 1950s novels stereotyping lesbian romance, 3/7-29, Bartell Theatre, showing at 7:30 pm Thursdays ($10) and 8 pm Fridays-Saturdays ($15). 661-9696 ext. 3
When: 03/07/08
Cost: $15/$10
Call: 661-9696
Email: pulp@stageq.com
More Information:
Singing Lesbians to set up Camp in March
Musical satire of 1950s Pulp Romance Novels opens March 7th
StageQ, Inc, the local not-for-profit LGBTQ Theater Company announces the musical comedy “Pulp” to run March 7 – March 29, 2008 at the Bartell Theater, 113 E. Mifflin Street in Madison.
“Pulp,” is a “comedy with music” spoofing the lurid 1950s novels of over-the-top stereotypes of lesbian romance. Everything from …read more

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I was very interested to read this account of a fundraiser done by the stars of Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice to raise money for crew members affected by the writer’s strike. I never realized how much talent was on the casts of both shows, and it made me a little sad:

Sara Ramirez, (Dr. Callie Torres), won the 2005 Tony for her role as ‘The Lady of the Lake’ in Monty Python’s “Spamalot.”
T.R. Knight (George O’Malley) started in musical theatre did a song from Stephen Sondheim’s Follies
Chandra Wilson, (Dr. Miranda Bailey) a former Broadway star, sang “God Bless the Child.”
Loretta …read more

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