Musicals

^ Thanks for the sympathy. And I'm hoping too, that it won't suddenly be "sold out" on both showings, here.

Beyond that, I am now hoping they'll consider the idea of selling the production on a DVD (and a CD!),

after January.It will certainly make loads of $$$ if they do it. Even if we do get to see it in it's entirety,

I would definitely want the recording(s) of this one! I have "Memphis"; "Shrek"; other Sondheim musicals

in DVD format, too.

("Sunday"; "Into The Woods"; "Sweeney Todd" in a couple of different productions; "Passion"; "Company")

Ah well. Electronic Life, heh.

The trick now is to not dwell on it over the next several weeks, hope for the best, and then see it Jan.20th.

Promo shot from the London production of FOLLIES.

This pleases me greatly!

Can anyone confirm or deny if they use songs from "Bat out of Hell II, Back into Hell"?

Here Guy. I took a shot of the back of it, with all the numbers on the 2 discs...

EDIT TO ADD: Here's where you can get a copy of it ~ https://www.amazon.com/Bat-Hell-Musical-HELL-MUSICAL/dp/B0758BQ1LH/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1511130877&sr=1-1&keywords=bat+out+of+hell+the+musical

^YES!

This pleases me very much! I hope a tour comes near or through Nashville. I will be there!

^ Thanks for the sympathy. And I'm hoping too, that it won't suddenly be "sold out" on both showings, here.

 

Beyond that, I am now hoping they'll consider the idea of selling the production on a DVD (and a CD!),

after January.It will certainly make loads of $$$ if they do it. Even if we do get to see it in it's entirety,

I would definitely want the recording(s) of this one! I have "Memphis"; "Shrek"; other Sondheim musicals

in DVD format, too.

 

................................Ah well. Electronic Life, heh.

 

The trick now is to not dwell on it over the next several weeks, hope for the best, and then see it Jan.20th.

The London production on a DVD(CD) -- YES!!!!!!!!!!!! If truth be known, that is EXACTLY what I I've been thinking about since you first told me of the FOLLIES event. Yeah, it's nice to see it on "The Big Screen" - but to OWN it, is sublime. (Tho I'll still check to see if my area theater adds another date.)

In the meantime, 'godspeed' January 20th for you AND fingers crossed for an un-flawed event!

Alice

^ Thanks again. Actually, I've been checking YouTube and there's a few of the numbers from this production, already listed!

I tried to avoid it all... but I did give myself a peek at the "Who's That Woman?" number. Looked great. No spoilers, lol!

But just to let you know, you can get a look at different numbers from it, already.

"Who's That Woman?" from FOLLIES/UK-2017. "Strike a pose!"

How "Who's That Woman?" starts....

^ Thanks again. Actually, I've been checking YouTube and there's a few of the numbers from this production, already listed!

I tried to avoid it all... but I did give myself a peek at the "Who's That Woman?" number. Looked great. No spoilers, lol!

 

But just to let you know, you can get a look at different numbers from it, already.

Thanks! Will check them out!

I'm sure you know this song, below....but it's one of my faves and I just heard it again today on YouTube: Lloyd Weber's "Tell Me on a Sunday" from Song and Dance.

This is Betty Buckley's recording, and it's so haunting. I know the lyrics may seem 'cheesy' to some, but it seemed so relevant to that stage of life we all go through. URL and LYRICS:

Don't write a letter when you want to leave

Don't call me at 3 am from a friend's apartment.

I'd like to choose how I hear the news.

Take me to a park that's covered with trees.

Tell me on a Sunday please.

Let me down easy, no big song and dance.

No long faces, no long looks, no deep conversation.

I know the way we should spend that day.

Take me to a zoo that's got chimpanzees.

Tell me on a Sunday please.

Don't want to know who's to blame, it won't help knowing.

Don't want to fight day and night bad enough you're going.

Don't leave in silence with no words at all.

Don't get drunk and slam the door, that's no way to end this,

I know how I want you to say goodbye.

Find a circus ring with a flying trapeze.

Tell me on a Sunday please.

I don't want to fight day and night, bad enough you're going.

Don't leave in silence with no words at all.

Don't get drunk and slam the door, that's no way to end this.

I know how I want you to say goodbye.

Don't run off in the pouring rain.

Don't call me as they call your plane.

Take the hurt out of all the pain.

Take me to a park that's covered with trees.

Tell me on a Sunday please.

P.S. Speaking of Betty Buckley, she used to live down the block from me and had 3 Shih Tzu (Gemma, Bridget & Jessie). I also had 3 Shih Tzu at that time and it was hilarious when the dogs passed by each other on the street - a little coven of long-haired 'aristocrats,' trying to upstage each other. (Am pretty sure I mentioned before that Betty had one of her dogs on stage with her in Edwin Drood and when she left the show, replaced by Loretta Swit!!, my twin's Lhasa, Oliver, and one of my Tzu, Keswick, were cast to "play the dog" - until the producers found it too expensive and the dogs were 'laid off.' That's show biz!

Alice

Sitting in the theater hearing the familiar, haunting notes of The Point of No Return open the show, subtly serving as a connective bridge I found myself with chills and goosebumps... The thought of seeing a sequel to my favorite Broadway show before my eyes was a promising and daunting one. That's why when I was asked to report on the touring production of Love Never Dies: The Phantom Returns, I was both excited and extremely nervous. Having grown up on the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, particularly his classic Phantom of the Opera, I was no stranger to the sweeping grandiosity of the music, sets and complex characters, damaged and beautiful, enigmatic but wounded underneath. 'Phantom' has a beloved legacy and Love Never Dies will surely divide those first considering it whether the story should exist, but I found that two approaches would allow the original to be preserved without the continuation changing your perspective of the contained story that stands beloved on its own.

You see, Love Never Dies is a sequel musical set ten long years after the events at the Paris Opera House and during that time, the previous musical's characters have evolved... Changed. Those changes were sometimes hard to swallow... If only because in order to succeed, Love Never Dies takes the feelings you had about these characters and shifts them--reinterprets them to further the story. Which is why I had to step back and look at the story of The Phantom in two ways to "see" this show. In one way, Phantom of the Opera can be seen as a self-contained story, where Christine and Raoul ride off together, leaving the tragedy of the Opera Populaire and the Phantom behind them, their remaining story left to the imagination and their love going on as if deserved for the trouble they endured to earn their freedom. In another view, their story once open ended has been continued--once left to wonder and now we know what happened. Opening up in this way allowed me to preserve the original ending's effect without letting the continuation take away from that classic story's beginning, middle and end.

Love Never Dies picks up with The Phantom of the Opera, now acting as the mysterious proprietor of Phantasma, a collection of unique oddities and acts set upon the waterside charm of Coney Island. The shift in location is a perfect extension of the Phantom's twisted facade, beautiful, mysterious but with darkness beneath the shadows. The contrast between the ornate and upper-class establishment of the Paris Opera House is clear and no doubt a reflection of how far the characters have come since the original story ended. Christine Daae, now married to Raoul and with a ten year old son, arrives in Coney Island, saddled the baggage of the years. Raoul is a far cry from the man he once was in the eyes of the audience, with his drinking and gambling bringing the family crippling debt and a fall from the graces of high society. He cannot connect with their son Gustave, whose curiosity and savant-like mastery of music begs to question whose abilities he truly inherited - a point not to be ignored throughout the story. The Phantom has orchestrated a plan to heal his soul, going through a decade long withdrawal from the one drug that he lived on in Paris, the voice of Christine Daae. "Till I Hear You Sing" is a standout song within the show (reprised at several points throughout) that evidences the pain, love and desperation behind the Phantom's plan. Absolute chills upon its delivery.

On the other end of the story is Madame Giry and her daughter Meg, previously characters on the side of The Phantom of the Opera but here main players, having toiled for ten years to raise the Phantom up to the heights, having done whatever it takes to further his ambition in the hopes that he would share his favor in return. The reintroduction of Christine in their lives derails their vision and threatens their ground, leading to a more villainous position in this story. Once again, a twist on the established character profiles of these two that takes some getting used to.

Like the ten years that have passed between the musicals' timelines or the even greater span of time between their respective debuts, Love Never Dies feels like a maturation across the board. The setting, the story, the allusions, the actions and the music are all darker and deeper than the show's predecessor. Phantom of the Opera presented the dilemma of choice between two prospective lovers and the conflict between physical and emotional attraction versus the strength of mutual talent and the rush of a forbidden love. Love Never Dies challenges the decisions made in the prior story and paints a conflict over past choices and future direction for these characters, making the audience question who was right suitor chosen and what could have been. As the story unfolds, secrets are laid out that shift our understanding of the events of Phantom of the Opera, once again rewriting interpretations of the characters with whom so many had previously connected. No character carried over into this show is without fault or secret and as a result, they become more layered than you previously knew them to be.

Make no mistake, Love Never Dies will be divisive, particularly for those with attachments to the dark fairy tale that was the original Phantom of the Opera. But there is something to be said for the connective tissue between shows that is presented tastefully and in a manner that is not overshadowing of the new ground Love Never Dies attempts to tread. Suspension of expectations of these characters allows for the story to reach new heights with several songs standing out as triumphs including "Look With Your Heart," "Beneath a Moonless Sky" and "Once Upon Another Time." As a Phantom fan, it would be a disservice to not give the show a chance. This alternate-universe ending to the story we already thought was finished has particular merit as a table-turning follow-up that furthers these characters in ways you wouldn't expect. While the show is not perfect (neither is the original), it succeeds in delivering a thought-provoking bookend with memorable music, incredible staging (akin to the inventiveness of the original Phantom of the Opera production) and unexpected motions that rewrite the history you once knew.

Love Never Dies: The Phantom Returns can be seen at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts from November 21st through November 26th, 2017. For more information visit: https://www.drphillipscenter.org/events/tickets/2017/love-never-dies/

Richard Koons (“Squelch”), Katrina Kemp (“Fleck”) and Stephen Petrovich (“Gangle”) star in Love Never Dies.

Sean Thompson (“Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny”) stars in Love Never Dies.

Sean Thompson (“Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny”), Jake Heston Miller (“Gustave”) and Meghan Picerno (“Christine Daaé”) star in Love Never Dies.

“The Coney Island Waltz” featuring Richard Koons (“Squelch”), Katrina Kemp (“Fleck”), Stephen Petrovich (“Gangle”) and the Ensemble of Love Never Dies.

Karen Mason (“Madame Giry”) stars in Love Never Dies.

Jake Heston Miller (“Gustave”), Meghan Picerno (“Christine Daaé”) and Sean Thompson (“Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny”) star in Love Never Dies.

Katrina Kemp (“Fleck”), Stephen Petrovich (“Gangle”) and Richard Koons (“Squelch”), star in Love Never Dies.

Richard Koons (“Squelch”), Katrina Kemp (“Fleck”) and Karen Mason (“Madame Giry”) star in Love Never Dies.

Meghan Picerno (“Christine Daaé”) stars in Love Never Dies.

“Dear Old Friend” – Mary Michael Patterson (“Meg Giry”), Meghan Picerno (“Christine Daaé”), Karen Mason (“Madame Giry”) and Sean Thompson (“Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny”) star in Love Never Dies.

“Only For You” - Mary Michael Patterson (“Meg Giry”) and the Ensemble of Love Never Dies.

Jake Heston Miller (“Gustave”) and Meghan Picerno (“Christine Daaé”) star in Love Never Dies.

Since we just got the revival of "Phantom" in this past Broadway Across Canada season (last July,

and it was great!) I wouldn't be surprised, if "Love Never Dies" follows it, in the coming 2018-19 season.

Sitting in the theater hearing the familiar, haunting notes of The Point of No Return open the show, subtly serving as a connective bridge I found myself with chills and goosebumps... The thought of seeing a sequel to my favorite Broadway show before my eyes was a promising and daunting one. That's why when I was asked to report on the touring production of Love Never Dies: The Phantom Returns, I was both excited and extremely nervous. Having grown up on the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, particularly his classic Phantom of the Opera, I was no stranger to the sweeping grandiosity of the music, sets and complex characters, damaged and beautiful, enigmatic but wounded underneath. 'Phantom' has a beloved legacy and Love Never Dies will surely divide those first considering it whether the story should exist, but I found that two approaches would allow the original to be preserved without the continuation changing your perspective of the contained story that stands beloved on its own.

 

...........Love Never Dies: The Phantom Returns can be seen at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts from November 21st through November 26th, 2017. For more information visit: https://www.drphillipscenter.org/events/tickets/2017/love-never-dies/

Thanks jedimaster for this exquisite recap - and your thoughts - on Lloyd Webber's sequel, Love Never Dies: The Phantom Returns.

(Your report is beautifully written and gives a lot of 'food for thought.')

Alice

I heard really bad things from most of my friends who saw the original version on West End (disclaimer: a few of them are die-hard Phantom fans though), but I also heard they fixed a lot of things in future productions, so sounds like they have changed things for the better.

Just saw the noon onscreen broadcast of Holiday Inn, which had a short run on Broadway, a season ago.

Good production, lots (and LOTS) of dancing, and a lot of Irving Berlin numbers!

Leads were great, and the supporting roles were awesome, too.

And although the stage sound went "down" a bit, after the opening number (I had instant nightmares of this becoming like

FOLLIES a few weeks back), the broadcast didn't f - up (like FOLLIES did) and stop altogether. Whew!

I wish more musicals did this, with their original casts. Hamilton, I am looking at you, lol. And The Book of Mormon

would have been awesome to see on screen with the original cast, etc.

Oh well, better a few, than none at all.

Just found this at http://www.broadway.com ~ loved it, and wanted to share...

Escape to Margaritaville's music man Jimmy Buffet knows how to greet the fans in style ahead of a Broadway run! He distributed cheeseburgers (as in "...In Paradise"—get it?) at the Marquis Theatre on December 8. What better way to celebrate a new musical than with a greasy burger! New Great White Way tradition? We think so! Peek the pics, and get ready to raise a glass when Escape to Margaritaville begins performances on February 16, 2018.

Pushing the cheeseburgers...Jimmy Buffet! I am also curious who made these cheeseburgers?

But he wants you to come back in February, for "Escape To Margaritaville"!

The Dr. Phillips Center has sent us a notice of the opening of the lottery ticket option for The Book of Mormon which will be performing this week in Orlando!

THE BOOK OF MORMON, winner of nine Tony Awards including Best Musical, is pleased to announce a lottery ticket policy for the National Tour, which begins Tuesday, December 12, 2017 in the Walt Disney Theater at Dr. Phillips Center and plays a limited one week engagement through Sunday, December 17, 2017. In Orlando, the production will conduct a pre-show lottery at the box office, making a limited number tickets available at $25 apiece.

 

The wildly popular lottery for the Broadway production has attracted as many as 800 entries at some performances. The producers of THE BOOK OF MORMON are pleased to offer low-priced lottery seats for every city on the National Tour.

 

Entries will be accepted at the box office beginning two and a half hours prior to each performance; each person will print their name and the number of tickets (1 or 2) they wish to purchase on a card that is provided. Two hours before curtain, names will be drawn at random for a limited number of tickets priced at $25 each. Only one entry is allowed per person. Cards are checked for duplication prior to drawing. Winners must be present at the time of the drawing and show valid ID to purchase tickets. Limit one entry per person and two tickets per winner. Tickets are subject to availability.

 

About THE BOOK OF MORMON

THE BOOK OF MORMON features book, music and lyrics by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone. Parker and Stone are the four-time Emmy Award-winning creators of the landmark animated series, “South Park.” Tony Award-winner Lopez is co-creator of the long-running hit musical comedy, Avenue Q. The musical is choreographed by Tony Award-winner Casey Nicholaw (Monty Python’s Spamalot, The Drowsy Chaperone) and is directed by Nicholaw and Parker.

 

THE BOOK OF MORMON is the winner of nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score (Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, Matt Stone), Best Book (Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, Matt Stone), Best Direction (Casey Nicholaw, Trey Parker), Best Featured Actress (Nikki M. James), Best Scenic Design (Scott Pask), Best Lighting Design (Brian MacDevitt), Best Sound Design (Brian Ronan) and Best Orchestrations (Larry Hochman, Stephen Oremus); the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical; five Drama Desk Awards including Best Musical, the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album; four Outer Critics Circle Awards, including Best Musical, and the Drama League Award for Best Musical.

 

THE BOOK OF MORMON features set design by Scott Pask, costume design by Ann Roth, lighting design by Brian MacDevitt and sound design by Brian Ronan. Orchestrations are by Larry Hochman and Stephen Oremus. Music direction and vocal arrangements are by Stephen Oremus.

 

The Original Broadway Cast Recording for THE BOOK OF MORMON, winner of the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, is available on Ghostlight Records.

Just found this at http://www.broadway.com ~ loved it, and wanted to share...

 

Escape to Margaritaville's music man Jimmy Buffet knows how to greet the fans in style ahead of a Broadway run! He distributed cheeseburgers (as in "...In Paradise"—get it?) at the Marquis Theatre on December 8. What better way to celebrate a new musical than with a greasy burger! New Great White Way tradition? We think so! Peek the pics, and get ready to raise a glass when Escape to Margaritaville begins performances on February 16, 2018.

Missed out on this....but whatta guy! Thanks for your alert!

Alice

What can I say about Book of Mormon that hasn't been said already? I just got to see the show again tonight at Dr. Phillips Center here in Orlando as part of their 2018 Fairwinds Broadway Season playing now through Dec 17th and it is still one of my all-time favorite shows! Let me post some thoughts and musings about the show...

- Without giving anything away, "Planet Orlando" is by far the BEST place to see Book of Mormon!!!

- I cannot think of many other shows (really any other) where each song is so high energy and full of amazing!

- The cast for this tour has been just wonderful! This is the second time I've seen this cast and they are a pleasure to watch on stage!

- The show itself is just hilarious.

- At many points of the show you just stop and have to say "I cannot believe what my eyeballs are seeing right now!"

- It seriously is just an incredible, hysterical, and yes even heart-warming show!

- Beneath everything that could possibly offend some people, the show actually has some wonderful messages!

- Basically just nice to each other regardless of what someone believes.

Oh, and...

- "Hasa Diga Eebowai!"

There are still some amazing shows coming to Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando this season: School of Rock, Waitress, The Lion King, Something Rotten!

You can find out more about upcoming shows and how to become a season ticket holder here: https://www.drphillipscenter.org/

Hello! My name is Elder Price. And I would like to share with you the most amazing book!

Elder Cunningham is the hilarious underdog hero that steals the show in every scene he's in!

Nabisco, Nala, Nintendo 64...what's her name again?

"I'm wet with salvation! We just went all the way" - Typical mormon baptism, right?

Hasa Diga Eebowai! "Does it mean No Worries for the Rest of Your Days?"

Tomorrow is a "latter day!"

I've seen this show in a few locations including New York but the energy at the performance I saw in Orlando was incredible and by far the best performance of it I've had to date. It really felt "special" seeing it there and I'm kinda disappointed that I can't make it down there to see it again this weekend.

I love this show so much, I think it's still my favorite musical. If someone gave me a choice of free tickets to either Hamilton or Book of Mormon I'd probably see BOM for a 5th time than Hamilton for a 2nd. Actually, I'd take the Hamilton tickets, sell them for double face value, then buy tickets to Book of Mormon instead .

I hope this show keeps coming back to Vancouver year after year, which is fine by me.

We've seen it twice, and can't get enough of it, especially with different casts taking it on.

And IMhO... Book of Mormon > Hamilton.

And we're hoping the Carol King musical, "Beautiful" comes our way, some year soon.

Don't forget what's on TV tonight....

The LIVE broadcast, of the Broadway Musical adaptation of The Film!

^ Review: It was..... okay. It's such an odd piece to musicalize, with no real memorable songs and such.

But - these are the two score guys who gave us "Dear Evan Hansen" on Broadway - and won the TONY for it,

too. AND have just written what I think is (what I have heard so far) an awesome score for "The Greatest

Showman." And they won the OSCAR for their stuff in "La La Land," right?

Still, I thought the actor playing the father was amazingly "into his part" and was a great singer, as well.

The kids were all being ';kids' and some of the group production stuff was lame, to me. Not rehearsed enough.

I would rather see more Adult LIVE Stuff, like the past production of GREASE. That's been "the best" for me.

I guess it counts as a Musical?

my Hubby bought as an Xmas present for us, tix to see Cirque du Soliel's "Crystal"

I'm not familiar with this show at all (and avoiding the urge to look it up, as I wanna be surprised), but Nick said it's on ice?

so sounds wonderful.

our tix are for Feb 18th, so will report back after we've seen it!

^ Haven't heard of it. Sounds interesting. Looking forward to your report, Bert.

We're seeing MOTOWN in February, too. We're really Looking forward to it.

By the way, here. There's a Cirque thread: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=259512#p259512

Just letting you and anybody else, know.

Found this, for Crystal.

I admit that I'm a bit of a "musical snob" when it comes shows I choose to see, so it's rare that I end up going into a show that I know nothing about (and honestly didn't have a lot of interest in) but come away from it absolutely LOVING the show! And this was the case with School of Rock which I saw last night on tour at the Dr. Phillips Center here in Orlando.

I'll be honest, I'm not much of a Jack Black fan so I never saw the movie and when the show was announced it didn't really peak my interest that much and we skipped it during our Broadway trips the past few times. On top of that, Andrew Lloyd Webber shows have been really hit and miss for me (love Evita, hated Cats, love Phantom, hated Sunset Blvd, etc, etc...) but this show.... OMG! I really loved it! It was described to me as "Matilda with Rock n Roll" and that's fairly close to how I would describe it as well. It was DAMN IMPRESSIVE that the kids *ACTUALLY PLAY* the instruments on stage! They aren't just faking it with the orchestra playing the real music, they are actually playing with the orchestra serving as a "backup band."

The "kid members" of the band: Bass, Guitar, Drums, Keyboard, backup singers, etc were all amazing. Standing ovations were had even before the curtain call! And while I would say that the show is sort of like "Matilda with Rock N Roll" (maybe slightly less sophisticated, however) it also has the high energy of Kinky Boots, another show that I adore!

While the first half of Act I I felt it was a little hard to get into the characters as you're really meant to dislike Dewey at the start of the show, the whole point of that is to that he will have a greater redemption by the end of it, and it really does pull on your heart strings throughout Act 2. While the story is not complex and very predictable at times, I don't think that distracts from the overall enjoyment of the show.

In short, don't miss this show! It was wonderful!

School of Rock plays through Dec 31st at Dr. Phillips Center as part of their Fairways Broadway season and you can get tickets and information about season passes here: https://www.drphillipscenter.org/

If you are an Orlando local, or someone who visits frequently, we HIGHLY recommend checking out the season tickets or at least becoming a "member" of the theater which gives you pre-sale ticket options which we take advantage of quite frequently! It really is a fantastic venue! Here's some video and photos from the show:

Kristen LOVES Matilda, so she was super excited to see this as well!

We have our seats in this BEAUTIFUL theater, and we both LOVED the show!

Dr. Phillips Center is still fairly "new" for Orlando and it's a wonderful venue! We are "members" of the theater and we love taking advantage of their pre-sale ticket options before the tickets go on sale to the public.

^ I've seen a scaled down local version that the Community Center here put on .. but that looks great!

will certainly check it out when the touring company comes thru.

Totally looking forward to this coming to Nashville soon. It looks great! Glad you had a good time.