Fame or Famine

Broadway’s full of failures. Putting on a show, any show, is going to be a gamble. So it wasn’t terribly surprising when the original Suessical, based on the work of Theodore Geisl (Dr. Suess) failed to recoup its original investment. Unlike some other shows – like Donny Osmond’s Yankee Doodle Dandy, which closed opening night – Suessical had a good run, 198 shows in 2000. But a bad investment is a bad investment, and it was put away.
The Long Tail of the Cat in the Hat
However, being produced on Broadway is not the only way to make money from a …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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It may finally happen. I may be able to go and see a performance of a dance piece I’m writing about. Best of all, it features my homeboy, Ethan Steifel, who started his stellar career right down the road from me at the Monona Academy of Dance.
Twyla’s Interpretation of Heaven & Hell
Ethan works with Herman Cornejo and other dancers from American Ballet Theater at Lincoln Center’s Opera House to convey a balletic journey through a “post-modern idea of the world.” Bloomberg News called the latter part of the ballet “too long and too diffuse” and concluded there was “nothing new.” …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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Every once in a while it is the job of a blogger to grab the bull by the tail and face the situation, and this is one of those. I made a rather egregious error in a prior post, for which I apologize.
Haylie Duff, Not Hilary Duff
Yes, that’s right. Legally Blonde: The Search for Elle is not hosted by Hilary Duff, as I wrote, but by Haylie Duff, her sister and co-star for the movie Material Girls. Haylie has also appeared on Broadway in Hairspray, but her longest and most recognized role was on the long-running TV series 7th …read more

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On my shelf sits a book, a black book with a picture of a curly-haired smiling lady on the back. It’s called “Improvisation for the Theater” and is written by drama pioneer Viola Spolin.
Her son, Paul Sills, died of pneumonia today at age 80, having continued his mother’s work and shaped theatre as we know it today.
Paul Sills, the “Orson Welles of Improv”
Maybe you’ve heard of some of the places Paul Sills’ influence was felt. Second City? The Kids in the Hall? OK, how about Saturday Night Live? 30 Rock? Broadway’s Ragtime? Or how about one of his students, a …read more

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I’ve been very interested in learning some of the behind-the-scenes aspects of everybody’s favorite reality dance competition, So You Think You Can Dance. I think it was getting Arielle’s perspective that got me interested. But something is rotten in the state of etc…
So You Thought You Could Dance?
Like me, the TV Grapevine had a personal connection to someone who auditioned for the show. Like me, that person didn’t make it past the preliminary stages – but in their case, she was able to stay the extra day to see the “individual round.”
Yes, that’s right. That “individual round” is not …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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It’s a banner day on Broadway, especially for some of the stories I’ve been tracking on this blog.
Stew Gets an Obie for Passing Strange
I wrote recently how musician and auteur Stew had garnered no fewer than seven Tony nominations – but there’s more out there than Tony. The Village Voice also gives out its own theatre award, the “Obie”, and Passing Strange has secured Best New Theatre Piece. I’m a little amused, though, because part of the prize is $1,000 – to be split between Stew, co-author Heidi Rodewald and director Annie Dorsen – which I think is just about …read more

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Correction: While having lunch with Douglas Rosenberg today, he corrected one fact that was not clear in my recent post about John Henry. While it is true that John Henry never actually served in Vietnam, he was in the army, and served honorably; the interesting thing is that the metaphor of the war and combat experiences became a metaphor for the struggles he endured as a gay man, as an artist, and as someone fighting AIDS. I apologize for the error.
Jealous of my Friends: A fellow blogger and online friend of mine, Viviane, is sitting as I write this at …read more

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