Musicals

First photo released of The Divine Miss M as Dolly Gallagher Levi in "Hello Dolly!".

Also starring David Hyde Pierce (Niles in "Frasier"?) as Horace Vandergelder.

This is the theater where "A Chorus Line" started out, back in the mid-1970s.

Photo courtesy of www.Broadway.com

^Must get out to see this! I loves me somma Bette!

^ It might be funny, if 'Dolly' breaks into "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"

with the entire cast during curtain calls.

^ It might be funny, if 'Dolly' breaks into "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"

with the entire cast during curtain calls.

This would be God Like in it's awesomeness!

I love this recent photo ...

Perfect casting for James Corden's "Sidewalk Musical". It was great! This would actually be a pretty

awesome cos-play group in Tokyo Disneyland during their Halloween season! Dibs on Mr. Beast! (o;

I forgot they shared the same day, today!.....

Happy Birthday ~ Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber!

(And JOHN KANDER's birthday was March 18th, so a belated Happy B, too!)

John Kander's nephew Jason, who ran for Senate last year, just wrote an awesome tweet about his uncle. I won't post it here, because I think it's too political for this forum, but Google "Jason Kander tweet" and you'll find it.

http://www.broadway.com just posted this Opening Night curtain call from the revival of Miss Saigon.

I love these shots.

There is absolutely nothing like Live Theatre! Nothing. (o:

Here's the Opening Night Curtain Call of the new musical, War Paint, with musical stars Patti LuPone

and Christine Ebersole as the two iconic makeup revolutionaries, Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden.

And there's to be a cast recording, too! Photo by www.broadway.com Thanks!

Just found this. Foir those who either 1) Saw and loved "Waitress" on Broadway; 2) Love the cast recording of "Waitress";

or 3) Love pie. To bake it and/or eat it.

Available through Amazon, near the end of May:

https://www.amazon.com/Sugar-Butter-Flour-Waitress-Book/dp/0735216339/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492987922&sr=8-1&keywords=books%2C+sugar+flour+butter

Yum!

Also... if you haven't seen it already, there's a great video posted of The Divine Miss M taking her first bow as Dolly Levi,

in the brand new revival of "Hello Dolly!," the other night. It's a riot, and you see it for your self.....

Best - bow - ever.

I loves meh somma Bette!

Just found this. Foir those who either 1) Saw and loved "Waitress" on Broadway; 2) Love the cast recording of "Waitress";

or 3) Love pie. To bake it and/or eat it.

 

Available through Amazon, near the end of May:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Sugar-Butter-Flour-Waitress-Book/dp/0735216339/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492987922&sr=8-1&keywords=books%2C+sugar+flour+butter

That looks incredible. I was able to see the show last August and instantly fell in love with it, so this would be something really cool to get.

Also, I got a ticket to see Brendon Urie form Panic! at the Disco in Kinky Boots on Broadway in August!

^ Great! I am hoping a tour of the musical comes to Vancouver, soon.

We're already going to start the new tour season in July, with "Phantom" and

the season ends in February ("Motown") next year. So "Waitress" could be

visiting us, maybe a year from now? Who knows, till announced, right?

By the way, was the Waitress PIE TRUCK around, when you saw the show?

I know they had one out there, near the theater, so I thought I'd ask.

Have a great time at Kinky Boots! The recent tour was awesome here.

I wanted to immediately see it again. Our tour lead, J. Harrison Ghee,

was amazing, and now he's doing Lola on Broadway, too!. Hope you

enjoy him. He's apparently the TALLest Lola they've had so far, LOL!

Here he is, our Lola. From the tour we saw.

Here's another shot of The Glorious Ms. M taking her Big Bow after Opening Night of HELLO, DOLLY!

The production is now starting to get some other big award nominations,

before the TONY noms get announced, on May 2nd.

And I can't wait to get the new cast recording of the production! Been a long long time

since I've looked forward to a "Hello Dolly!" recording, lol!

They love her! They love her! (o: And here ya go, Guy! (o;

Coming soon, very very soon! (o: (o: (o:

^Thank you for that! She's so awesome!

I have adored her since I saw her in "The Rose"

^ We've adored her since her earlier days (before movies) of night club tours and her live EPIC concert tours.

The best one we saw her LIVE, was when she did what she called her "Nightclub Tour" in the 1990s,

which involved much smaller venues and actual night clubs, like ours was...The Cave. And it

literally closed up for good after her tour, there. Timing! It used to house the best of the nightclub acts,

including The Rat Pack; Mitzi Gaynor testing out another Vegas Show at the Cave, before she

actually took it to Vegas; Liza Minnelli in her early club days, before "Cabaret;" the Mills Brothers;

Ella Fitzgerald; all the jazz greats; Tina Turner.. on and on.

But Bette's tour was amazing, and we were about twenty feet away from the stage and the show!

Drinks were served, then she came out with the Harlettes and bowled us over from start to finish.

And so ff-ing close! It as an awesome show.

Fast forward to a year ago, and we saw her from well over two thousand feet away, at ticket prices

David never actually told me about. And she was great. But it wasn't the same.

I would kill to get over there to NYC and see this. And David Hyde Pierce LIVE too.

I mean, Frasier's Niles, live! One of my immediate Lottery Bucket List items!...

Okay guys, here's what's coming up on Tuesday.

TONY Awards Nominations come out, the morning (0830 EST) of May 2nd.

So here's The Bunch of Original Musicals that are vying for Noms.

And this doesn't include the Revivals of Cats, Miss Saigon, Hello Dolly!

and a fave in the bunch, Falsettos! That's "another nomination category."

But all the creative and actor awards are up for grabs there, too.

Stay tuned, and much to discuss after the Tuesday Noms.

Three have already closed - which is pretty good odds, that 10 are still in the running!

^ So....the discussions/arguments begin. Here's the TONYs site: http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/index.html

And for the record, here's the 5 musicals that got no nominations whatsoever:

A Bronx Tale

Amelie

Charlie & The Chocolate Factory

In Transit

Paramour

And the revivals of Cats and Sunset Boulevard didn't score any noms, either.

It's interesting to me, to see the above image (and this was posted before the

nominations came out), and the five new musicals with 0 noms, are all at the top.

"Things that make you go hmmm."

And Guy? Our Bette got her Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical Nomination!

As did David Hyde Pierce, Kate Baldwin, Gavin Creel, the Whole Show for Best Revival, too!

A total of 10 TONY Nominations!

^This pleases me greatly!

Just got back from seeing Matilda at the Dr. Phillips Center here in Orlando. First off, I just want to say how impressed I've been with the Broadway season we've had this year and next year looks amazing as well! Shows like Gentleman's Guide, Matilda, Finding Neverland, American in Paris... all awesome shows this season and next season we have Waitress, Rent, The King & I, Lover Never Dies, Lion King and a triumphant return of one of my favorites: Book of Mormon! I know we have a lot of Orlando locals that read our forums and I strongly recommend season tickets or at least becoming a member of the theater (the pre-sale tickets option is worth every penny) and you can find more info here: https://www.drphillipscenter.org/

Now onto Matilda. I'm sure most of you know by now that Matilda is one of our all-time favorite shows. We love it (and when we say we I mean the whole family including Kristen, who is ten now, and has even sung some of the Matilda songs at her elementary school) and it's the intelligently written dialogue, the witty humor, and the sarcastic if not sometimes really dark subject matter that makes it a huge win for us!

One thing I will say about Matilda is that it's not really a "kids" show. And while it has a lot of kids in it, and many people who go to see it think it will be like the "British Annie" it's really so much deeper and darker. The kids in the show are FANTASTIC and you'll get emotional with them, but the show does deal with some pretty heavy subject matter at times such as suicide, child abuse, and murder! Be prepared to laugh, cry, and be a little bit shocked at some of the scenes. They are so well written and completely amazing!

We actually saw this show two nights in a row and it was interesting because we got to see different girls play Matilda (there are three total on the tour) as they take turns playing the role and going to "real school" (not just Crunchem Hall!) Jenna who we saw on the first night was just incredible. For a ten year old girl her singing/dancing/acting/British accent talent was just incredible throughout the whole show! We saw Gabby tonight and while she seemed to have a bit more trouble with the British accent, she NAILED songs like "Quiet" which is not an easy number at all. The entire cast was incredibly impressive and watching the adult ensemble during "School Song" and the kids during "When I Grow Up" gives you all the feels in many different ways.

And all the adult main characters: Miss Honey, Trunchbull, the Wormwood's, etc, are all fantastic in their own ways. You'll laugh at them, you'll hate them, and by the end of it, you'll be very happy you came to see this show!

This is the fourth time we've seen the show and it keeps getting better each time! And we are always so impressed with the touring casts as it's nice to have a bit of Broadway quality right here in Orlando!

On to some photos....

We arrive at the beautiful Dr. Phillips center for the show!

Kristen brought some school supplies to help support A Gift For Teaching charity!

Kristen is sporting her Matilda shirt from a previous viewing of the show!

I of course had to pick up the "Children are Maggots" shirt because I happen to agree with this!

Kristen is VERY happy to be back in a theater playing Matilda again! Even happier because it's our awesome home town venue of Dr. Phillips Center!

I know I've said it many times before but the theater is just fantastic and I'm so happy we have this new venue here in Orlando!

We've taken our seats and can't wait for the show!

This video clip was from the Tony's but it will give you an great idea of the AMAZING talent, writing, and pure magic that you'll see in Matilda! (and also the fact that it is introduced by Newsies makes this one of the best Broadway videos you can ever watch!)

Here are three Matilda's. Jenna on the far left and Gabby in the middle are the two that we have seen. Both VERY talented kids!

Sometimes you have to be a little bit naughty!

The "story" monologues are some of the best writing I've seen in a show. It's like a show within a show and they draw you in very deep. It's even crazier that they are spoken by kids 9 to 11 years old! AMAZING!

What can we say about Miss Trunchbull? As much as you hate her character she steals every scene she's in!

Miss Honey's character is, well, pathetic, but she's the heart of the show. And the Jennifer Bowles playing her... WOW... she was great!

And let's not forget the Wormwood's. Incredibly stupid people and you hate them as well, but you can't help but to laugh at them. They clearly would have voted for Trump.

And Mrs. Wormwood thinks reading books is for idiots. Let's just say she doesn't get very far in life!

My mummy says I'm a miracle...

It's hard not to get a little emotional during "When I Grow Up." It's interesting. I think this scene reads very differently for kids than it does adults!

Here's a clip from When I Grow Up. Take a moment to watch. It's amazing!

These are all revolting children!!! MAGGOTS!!!!

The intermission ends with a great "break the 4th wall" moment where Mr. Wormwood talks to the audience about the "Telly!" It's a great scene and a wonderful introduction to the 2nd act.

I absolutely LOVE this little cheat sheet they do for the show to help Americans understand the British slang! lol

Matilda has quite possibly the best curtain call with all the cast coming out on the scooters! I love this!

During the show the kids throw out paper airplanes into the audience. (Watch the Tony Awards video posted above) We caught one. Even the paper they throw out has a "progress report" for one of the students! I love this little detail about the show!

And yes, it's on both sides!

The show closed on Broadway on Jan 1st, 2017 (it is still playing open-ended in London) and here is the final curtain call for that show. You can see just how awesome it is!

Once again we are just so fortunate to have such an amazing venue like Dr. Phillips Center here in Orlando! Please take a look at their upcoming shows and if you're a theater fan subscribe or become a member!

https://www.drphillipscenter.org/

Awesome review! I would have loved to see that show!

Speaking of musicals....

My show PSYCHO MODE opens one week from today at the Orlando Fringe.

What is the Fringe?

A 14-day arts festival that is founded on the concept of being:

100% unjuried,

100% uncensored

100% accessible

100% inclusive

And 100% of sales are returned back to the artists!

The Orlando Fringe is the longest running Fringe Festival in the United States, celebrating 26 years as “Orlando’s most unique cultural experience”. Orlando Fringe is a proud member of the United States Association of Fringe Festivals (USAFF) http://www.fringefestivals.us, the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals (CAFF) http://www.fringefestivals.com and The World Fringe Congress http://www.worldfringe.com/congress.

What is Psycho Mode?

The cinematic artistry of Alfred Hitchcock. The music of Depeche Mode. A psychological horror thriller set to the music of one of the most prolific bands of the 80's.

A live retelling of one of the world's greatest motion pictures.

Live music. Live singing.

A unique twist on a classic story.

From Fringe award winner John B. deHaas, creator of Theme Park Diva, Tappin' and Yappin', Just This Once, and half of Toiley T. Paper: Roll Model.

13 & Up - Violence, Adult Themes

60 minutes

There is also a Kids Fringe every weekend and visual Fringe which has art for sale. Food trucks, a beer tent, and much more!

If you are anywhere near Orlando, this is THE art event of the year!

And I wouldn't mind if you came to see my show as well!

Tickets are $12 PLUS everyone MUST have Fringe button which costs $10. The button helps to pay for the festival, and once you buy it, you can wear it all festival long.

There is an awesome Orlando Fringe app that you can download and purchase tickets directly from it as well as access the whole schedule.

To get tickets to MY show, just click here:

https://orlandofringe.showare.com/?search=psycho%20mode

I haven't seen, or even read, Matilda, but I was a Roald Dahl fan when I was kid. His stories were always a bit on the "dark" side, which is probably why I liked them.

^This pleases me greatly!

So don't forget to watch The TONYs, Guy. Sunday, June 11th on CBS!

And I am so hoping Ms.Bette & Co. will give us a Big Number to enjoy, I hope, I hope!

They are nominated for TEN TONYS, second only to "Great Comet..." which has 12 noms!

This could be a very exciting AND very entertaining telecast!

After such a Hamilton OD at the awards last year. Which was great!

But still, this should be a more interesting Musicals competition.

p.s. And it would just rock Radio City Music Hall if they presented "The Entire Title Number",

with all the dancing in it, and HER front and center of it all.

What a you-were-there (even Live on tv!) moment that would be.

http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/index.html

(Producers and Bette and David, of HD! Please Read and Consider This!!!)

David Hyde Pierce (remember Niles in Frasier?) and Bette, on the Grand Staircase of the Harmonia Gardens Restaurant.

What the iconic headpiece looks like, close up.