Visit the Heights

Broadway.com has a charming little video where Lin-Manuel Miranda takes you backstage of In the Heights for a very personal tour backstage. He doesn’t do the normal “We’re so happy to be here, blah blahblah.” Instead he shares the video games he likes, the personal notes from people, his own personal image issues (“I think this mirror makes me look fat!”).

Some of it’s heart rending, such as the tragedy he found out about opening night (no, I’m not going to tell you, go watch it yourself!), the difficulties of doing 8 shows a week and basically living in the theatre.

He talks with some of the cast like Olga Merediz, who seem a little less natural than he does…but let me tell you, it’s making me really want to see the show. I think that he goes a little overboard in talking about bits and pieces of the set – at times it seems that he’s really stretching for material – but it’s all authentic, and that’s what counts.

Check it out. Tell me it doesn’t make you want to be there too.

 image courtesy of newscom

Post from: Fame or Famine

Here are the quotes, and who said them:

1. “She’s a pro and I’d say to be herself,” John Lithgow, her co-star in All My Sons
2. “She’s going to be wonderful.” That would be John Lithgow again.
3. “We haven’t worked together yet but it’s going to be great.” Once again, Mr. Lithgow, beginning to sound a little rationalizing, in my opinion.
4. [She] “will be so happy. There is nothing like it. It’s the Olympics. It’s the college of theater,” Brooke Shields, who did not say, as a writer friend of mine suggested, “C’mon! All the other girls are doing it!”
5. “Get a lot of sleep and stay healthy. It takes so much energy to be on stage 7 days a week so she needs a good night’s sleep everyday,” said Kristin Chenoweth, who gets my vote for the hardest working woman in show business and knows whereof she speaks.
6. “I’m sure she will do just fine.” also Kristin Chenoweth, and of them all, I think that her saying this would be the most comfort to Katie Holmes as she starts her journey on Broadway.

L. Ron Hubbard could not be reached for comment, as he’s not alive, and I really don’t have much to say except “Good luck!” to the mother, wife, actress, and soon-to-be Broadway star…

image courtesy of Newscom

Post from: Fame or Famine

1. “She’s a pro and I’d say to be herself,”
2. “She’s going to be wonderful.”
3. “We haven’t worked together yet but it’s going to be great.”
4. [She] “will be so happy. There is nothing like it. It’s the Olympics. It’s the college of theater,”
5. “Get a lot of sleep and stay healthy. It takes so much energy to be on stage 7 days a week so she needs a good night’s sleep everyday,”
6. “I’m sure she will do just fine.”

And here’s your choices for the quotes:

1. Kristin Chenoweth
2. Oprah
3. L. Ron Hubbard
4. Brooke Shields
5. John Lithgow
6. Gray  Miller
   

Put in your matches in the quotes; the answers will be revealed tomorrow!

image courtesy of Newscom 

Post from: Fame or Famine

Passing Over Passing Strange

One award: best book of a musical. Now, don’t get me wrong – Stew is probably quite pleased to have gotten that. He’s on record as saying that he considers himself first a musician, and that the idea of getting a Tony is pretty far removed from most musicians.

Maybe that’s why I wanted him to sweep the Tony’s. Something to do with the underdog, the newcomer, something capturing the imagination rather than dominating to distraction with some huge Disneyesque production. Yes, yes, I know that Miranda winning Best Musical for The Heights is also an underdog, a tale of a young kid coming out of nowhere making it big on the Great White Way…but The Heights was a more traditional musical, and I was kind of rooting for something new to shake things up. Must be my performance art background.

Living in the Past

I have to confess that I’m also quite disappointed that the lion’s share of the awards (and some of the performances, to boot) went to established, safe musicals. Look, it’s all well and good to have Gypsy and South Pacific still playing – though I really dislike the latter, Gypsy has lots of charm. But the thing is: they’ve both been done for decades. It’s not that there isn’t anything new to do with them – I fully respect the art of the Revival. But because they’ve been around so long, a lot of the dead ends and mistakes have been made. In some ways, putting these actors and crew in the same race as some new piece like August: Osage County (which didn’t too shabbily, either, adding Best Play and four other awards to the Pulitzer already on the shelf) seems like having a high school basketball star playing alongside Kobe Bryant – no matter how good the kid does, experience will tell.

I did take secret delight in Katrina Lindsay winning best Costume Design- Play for her work on the period piece “Les Liaisons Dangereuses.” I know, that completely makes the previous paragraph hypocritical – but I dated a costume designer who specialized in that period of costume, and it holds a soft spot in my heart.

Taking Suggestions

Then again, I’m just grumpy because the Tonys – always a great advertisement for Broadway – is a reminder of the shows I wish I were seeing. But I’ll get my chance…in a few weeks I head out to NYC for a couple of days. If I could only see one show: what should I see?

Image Courtesy of Newscom

Post from: Fame or Famine

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 together a series of songs such as “The Internet is for Porn” and “Everybody’s a Little Bit Racist,” and then got Jeff Whitty to write the book.

He created characters that my generation easily identified with – like “Trekkie Monster.” “”The joke of the show is, this is a primer for those years — like ‘Sesame Street’ is a primer for your childhood,” he said.

The Impermanent Generation

Heidi Miller, a friend of mine who recently saw it, agrees. “It is the sung representation of absolutely everything that Gen X’ers believe and have been through…The characteristics of Gen X’ers include a disbelief in stability…They have no believe in permanence. If you ask them for their 10-year plan, they will stare at you blankly.”

All conveyed, believe it or not, through hand puppets, manipulated by actors who have been through “puppet school,” and have to become a sort of quadruple threat: singing, dancing, acting, and puppeteering. But for a generation raised on Sesame Street, this serves as a sneaky back door into the subconscious of our minds. As Heidi notes, the puppets “come together, tear apart, find jobs, lose jobs, lose homes, find love and find purpose…” A better definition of theatre could not be made.

The tour may be coming to a city near you; it’s certainly worth the money. And Mr. Whitty is not sitting on his laurels – he’s hard at work adapting Armistad Maupin’s Tales of the City into a musical, with Jake Shears and John Garden, of the Scissor Sisters, composing. “I just feel if they could turn Les Miserables into a musical, we can do it with ‘Tales of the City.’ ”

Post from: Fame or Famine

1. Passing Strange – I can’t say enough about this one. 7 Tony Nominations, the autobiography of Stew, this one has gotta be the #1
2. In the Heights – “Salsa, hip-hop, merengue, Reggaeton, traditional Broadway” – this sounds as rich as NYC itself.
3. Xanadu - Yeah, I know, I’m as surprised as anyone that the ’70’s schlockfilm ended up being an award-winning musical, but that’s the magic of Broadway, right?
4. Sunday in the Park with George – There are a few other “classics” (like Gypsy) but this one deserves attention: Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell won 2007 Olivier Awards for the leads in this revival.
5. Young Frankenstein – I confess, this has gotten terrible reviews in spite of the genius of Mel Brooks. But I’m putting it in my top 5 because the only other choice was Cry Baby which is even worse, and at least it’s not Disney, right? Something of an original story….

Post from: Fame or Famine

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 enough to go out to dinner there in New York…

Katie Holmes Secures Her Role in “Fathers and Sons”

OK, it’s been called “Broadway’s worst kept secret,” but Playbill confirms that Katie Holmes is going to be starring in the Arthur Miller play (for which he also garnered a Tony Award). What I find a little dismaying is that the headlines are all talking about Ms. Holmes – and it’s her debut. She may not be good. There’s no shame in not being good at stage acting.

But shouldn’t the real news be the rest of the cast? John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest, Patrick Wilson, costumes and sets by Tom Pye, and directed by Simon McBurney – between them all they could furnish an entire house with Tony’s and Obie’s. I think it’s a real tribute to their dedication to the theatre that instead of going for the easy mega hit they’re devoting their time to a straight play and keeping the genre alive.

Mamma Mia Passes My Fair Lady

No, this is not about the upcoming film adaptation of Mamma Mia! (though seeing Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan will be quite a treat). No, this is a different kind of record, and just kind of a fun one: the Broadway stage production of Mamma Mia! recently supplanted My Fair Lady as the 17th longest-running musical of all time. We talk a lot about stage-to-screen and vice versa, but this is sort of vinyl-to-stage-to-screen, since the entire musical is based off of ABBA songs.

If you do go see the movie (and why wouldn’t you?) don’t hesitate to see the touring musical as well. The costumes are sacrificed in the film version, and it’s a pity…the neon outfits really make it the Speed Racer of musicals.

Ok, fine, here’s the preview to the movie, too.

images courtesy of Newscom

Post from: Fame or Famine

Jealous of my Friends: A fellow blogger and online friend of mine, Viviane, is sitting as I write this at a performance of Passing Strange, the hot new musical on Broadway. I mentioned a while back that this looks to be the hot new show, and it’s getting hotter. Seven – count ‘em, seven – Tony nominations, including four for the shows auteur and autobiographical subject, Stew:

• Best Musical
• Best Actor: Stew
• Score: Stew and Heidi Rodewald, and lyrics by Stew;
  
• Book Musical: Stew
  
• Orchestrations: Stew and Rodewald
• Featured Actor and Actress: Daniel Breaker and de’Adre Aziza

I recommend that when the Tony’s happen you gather with friends in front of a big screen TV with a lot of rolled-up white socks. Whenever someone thanks God, or has a horrific dress, or seems insincere, or you just feel like it, hurl your socks at the screen, booing loudly.Trust me, it’s fun. Almost as much fun as watching the nominated musicals (damn you, Viviane!). I will console myself with some of the free music downloads that are available, but I’m sure you’ve already done that yourself, right? Or, like me, you’re counting the days until May 27th when the whole cast album becomes available on iTunes…

Post from: Fame or Famine

A Spoonful of Sugar

Which is why Broadway.com’s essay by Gavin Lee about his first two years on Broadway in the role of Bert makes me happy. A veteran of the London production, he reshaped the role for a Broadway audience and seemed to do a good job of it: he was nominated for a Tony and won the Best Featured Actor Drama Desk Award.

He also proves to be quite a good writer. Most entertaining to me was his report of treading on Beyonce’s dress at the premiere of Dreamgirls. While I may gripe about the takeover of Broadway by Disney, I have to admit, if I were there, Mary Poppins would be close to the top of my must-see list.

Post from: Fame or Famine

MARIAH CAREY, DOLLY PARTON, NEIL DIAMOND AND ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER TO MENTOR FINALISTS AND PERFORM ON “AMERICAN IDOL”

Whaddaya mean, “mentor”?

Apparently the stars will help guide the finalists through the final few weeks of American Idol, and even perform live on the show. While I can see some crass commercialism here – Dollie Parton’s recent album, Backwoods Barbie, certainly won’t suffer from this added exposure, and Mariah Carey needs all the help she can get – I’m also curious as to why others are doing it.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s works have garnered him

• 7 Tonys
• 3 Grammys
• 7 Oliviers
• A Golden Globe
• An Oscar
• 2 International Emmys
• The Praemium Imperiale (the highest international distinction for achievement in the arts)
• The Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre
• The Kennedy Center Honor. A knighthood from the Queen of England

Doesn’t exactly have a lot to prove, does he?
Currently he’s casting for a revival of “Oliver!”, which is going on stage, not screen. So he’s got to be doing this for some personal reasons…and I look forward to getting a chance to see how he works with his finalists, and how they will fare against those who are coached by the Pop mavens.

Visit americanidol.com for exclusive videos, photos, special behind-the-scenes information and news, or subscribe to our own Idol Stalker here at B5Media!

Post from: Fame or Famine