Musicals

[Nrthwnd]

Woo hoo!

 

Can't wait to get the (first) soundtrack

of this great (IMhO) series.

 

And it has several of the "Marilyn" musical

numbers, they rehearsed and 'workshopped'

in the subsequent episodes.

 

Can't wait!

What a show, what a cast, what great writing, songs, numbers. GLEE for adults, LOL!

[coasterfreak101]

We spent spring break in NYC and managed to see The Lion King and Newsies (while it was still in previews). Lion King, of course, was amazing. The sets were much more minimalistic than I expected, but all the colors and artwork and costumes are just astounding! And it was great to see a Wednesday matinee completely full, even fifteen years after the show opened.

 

As for Newsies...if you haven't seen it, go do it. The reviews are great, and I don't really have anything bad to say about it. The set is awesome, the songs are catchy, and the actors and dancers... Let's just say that our trip was composed of ten gay 18-to-21 year-olds, and we all fell in love. I would definitely suggest it, especially for someone new to theater shows or someone who just wants a feel-good Disney flick folding out in front of their eyes!

[Nrthwnd]

^ We saw "The Lion King" as a tour here, well over a year ago.

 

And even with the sets and effects somewhat minimalized for touring purposes,

it was still an awesome experience, visually and musically.

 

And as for "Newsies" - - can't make it to New York right now.

So will happily (for now) wait for the original cast cd, coming out May 15th.

 

Can't wait!

Extra! Extra! Hear all about it! May 15th!

[cfc]

I was lucky enough to see Angela Lansbury and George Hearn in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street years ago. The Tim Burton movie is pretty good, but the original stage production craps all over it. Into the Woods (another Soundheim show) is also great.

 

I was fortunate to catch Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady and Richard Burton in Camelot, too.

[rosscoe]

I was lucky enough to see Angela Lansbury and George Hearn in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street years ago. The Tim Burton movie is pretty good, but the original stage production craps all over it. Into the Woods (another Soundheim show) is also great.

 

I was fortunate to catch Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady and Richard Burton in Camelot, too.

 

 

Sweeney is my favorite musical, would have love to have seen Angela in that role.

[funkeymon]

I have so many. But my top five are in this order.

 

1: Into the Woods

2: Book of Mormon

3: Wicked

4: Sweeny Todd

5: Phantom of the Opera

 

[Nrthwnd]

Woo hoo!

 

The TONY nominations

come out on Tuesday - May 1st.

 

Hosted by Kristen Chenowith

(Wicked; Pushing Daisies & GCB on tv)

and Jim Parsons (Big Bang Theory

and soon to open on Brdwy in "Harvey")

 

Can't wait!

[rosscoe]

Those noms this morning where interesting to say the least. Really Leap Of Faith!

[PhantomNick]

My wife and I were thrilled with the Broadway Across America season announcement for Pittsburgh in 2012-2013!! Several GREAT shows on the list! Jersey Boys is returning, which we saw last time and thoroughly enjoyed, along with the 25th anniversary of Les Miserables! But, best of all, Book of Mormon is coming!!! We are so excited to see that one, and kind of surprised it's already touring. Good stuff!

 

On a somewhat related note, we are planning a trip in the fall to Vegas (wife has never been there), and were disappointed to find out that the Phantom Spectacular at the Venetian would be closed by the time we go. That was one of the shows we wanted to check out.

[Nrthwnd]

Those noms this morning where interesting to say the least. Really Leap Of Faith!

 

Yeah, and now the show is set to close, soon.

 

Bummer. I love Raul Esparza, and all he's done

(Rocky Horror, Taboo, Company to name a few).

Hope there's a cast cd of it, nonetheless.

 

I mean, if "Lysistrata Jones" and "Bonnie & Clyde"

(both closed) get a cast cd....... ?

[rosscoe]

For all those in LA, do not miss FOLLIES saw it last Tuesday night, close enough to the most perfect production I have ever seen. Jan Maxwell is beyond brilliant her "Could I Leave You" and the final heartbreaking moments of that song are powerhouse of emotion and worth the ticket price alone.

 

I can not stress enough about seeing this show

[astroworldfan1]

I saw Lion King on Broadway and it was AMAZING!!!

[Hilltopper39]

The Tonys presenters and performances were annonced yesterday. Tony Awards 2012 Presenters and Performances

 

The 2012 Tony Awards® to Feature More Performances Than Ever Before!

With less than a week to go before Broadway's biggest night, the American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards has announced the line-up of performances for the 66th Annual Tony Awards on Sunday, June 10th. Neil Patrick Harris returns to host the awards, which will be broadcast live on CBS at 8/7c from the Beacon Theatre in NYC (time delayed at 8 PT).

 

The telecast will include a live performance by The Tony Award-winning blockbuster show that is Broadway’s hottest ticket - The Book of Mormon (Best Musical, 2011).

 

The evening, which will be packed with more entertainment than ever before, will feature performances by 2012 Tony-nominated musicals including:

 

Evita featuring Ricky Martin and Elena Roger

Follies featuring Tony nominated actor Danny Burstein

The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess featuring Tony nominees Audra McDonald, Norm Lewis and David Alan Grier

Jesus Christ Superstar featuring Tony nominee Josh Young

Leap of Faith featuring Raúl Esparza

Newsies, featuring Tony nominated actor Jeremy Jordan

Nice Work If You Can Get It featuring Matthew Broderick and Tony nominee Kelli O’Hara

Once featuring Tony nominees Steve Kazee, Cristin Milioti and Elizabeth A. Davis.

The evening will also include performances by Tony nominated plays, such as:

 

End of the Rainbow with Tony nominated actress Tracie Bennett

One Man, Two Guvnors with Tony nominated actor James Corden

Peter and the Starcatcher featuring Tony nominees Christian Borle and Celia Keenan-Bolger.

The show will also feature a performance with Corbin Bleu and the cast of Godspell and Ghost The Musical featuring Bryce Pinkham, Caissie Levy and Richard Fleeshman.

 

The telecast will also include a live broadcast from the middle of the Caribbean Sea, where Royal Caribbean International’s Oasis of the Seas’ cast of Hairspray will perform a show-stopping number in the ship’s Opal Theater.

 

As previously announced, presenters for the 2012 Tony Awards will include: Ellen Barkin, Candice Bergen, Jessica Chastain, Sheryl Crow, Nick Jonas, Angela Lansbury, James Marsden, Jim Parsons, Mandy Patinkin, Tyler Perry, Bernadette Peters, Christopher Plummer, Paul Rudd, Amanda Seyfried, Trey Parker and Matt Stone among others. And now Matthew Morrison, Josh Groban and Cote de Pablo have been added to the list.

 

The festivities begin at 6:00 p.m. ET here at TonyAwards.com with our LIVE video webcast of the stars' arrivals at the Beacon Theatre on the Audemars Piguet Red Carpet (courtesy NY1).

 

Then watch the 2012 Tony Awards on CBS, presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

 

Keep an eye on TonyAwards.com for more info.

 

Book of Mormon Opens the show, I'll be watching!

[coasterman17]

The Producers!!! Gotta love Mel Brooks humor.

[Nrthwnd]

Also, 60 Minutes on CBS, is doing a segment

on "The Book of Mormon" with the South Park creators,

just before the TONYs start up.

 

I think this is a repeat of the one they ran before it

opened a year ago - and the rest is history, etc.etc.

 

I also think it's still a good segment worth repeating.

But who knows? Maybe this is a new look back to how well

(ha ha) it's been doing, so far.

 

AND "Mormon" is apprently opening the Awards too! I am so

hoping its "Sal-Ta-La-Ka-City" sung by Nikki M. James, Such

a beautifully-sung song, wierd stuff and all, lol.

 

Happy 66th TONYs Everybody!

[Movieguy]

I've given Andrew Lloyd Webber a lot of crap for much of his work (Phantom sequel? Really?), but there's one work of his that i have a soft spot for, and that's Starlight Express. When I was 7 years old, my parents took me on a wonderful trip to NYC with their theater connections. I got to see Phantom, Into The Woods, and Anything Goes with Patti Lupone. We had also planned on seeing Les Mis, but they couldn't get enough tickets, so we settled for Starlight Express instead...in retrospect that was a good choice, as seeing the little boy, Gavroche, getting shot dead in Act II of Les Mis would have scarred me for life at that age.

 

I recently got a recording of Starlight from 1984, and while it may not be at the artistic level of my other favorite shows, I still found it pretty catchy. I know it gets a lot of grief from musical purists, but I think it's pretty well done for a rock musical. I like it waaaaaaay better than Cats, I know that much.

 

Also, I came up with a theory for the plot that makes this show much more interesting than the obvious bells and whistles. . I think that control, the voice of the boy, isn't really the boy at all, but really an outside force in what is clearly a dream world. I think that the boy and the main character, Rusty, are one in the same. The boy is dreaming that he's this underdog steam train, that feels the urge to race against the very trains he plays with, in order to prove his own worth in the world. Plus, remember that Starlight Express is an allegory for god in this show. If you think about it, the story really about this boy, who through his dreams, is discovering his own spirituality, and learning how to use it.

 

Again, that's just my theory. The fact that it's all on roller-blades doesn't hurt this show's appeal either. I know there have been broadway shows like Xanadu and Little Mermaid recently, but to me, there is only ONE rollerskating musical. Plus, I think it's the kind of show Kidtums would enjoy at her current age.

 

 

[Movieguy]

Sorry to double post, but I recently had an idea...what if somebody took Starlight Express, and changed it to a show about roller coaster trains racing each other. Imagine the story of an underdog woodie train, proving his worth against the steelies.

[Hilltopper39]

Starlight Express! I thought I was the only person who ever liked that show! It's so cheesy and bad, but has so much character and great music. I saw it once in London when I was a kid and was fascinated by it and always wondered why it wasn't more successful, other than the fact that it appeared to be an incredibly difficult production to produce.

 

Another show I love that never quite gained popularity in America was Sunset Boulevard, I think it opened briefly in New York and L.A. but never quite gained the popularity I thought it deserved.

 

I geeked out just a little two days ago when I found out that Book of Mormon is coming to Tampa during the 2013-2014 season, I did a fist pump and a cheer in the middle of a restaurant at lunch that got me a few funny looks but I don't care. Can't wait to see it finally.

[Movieguy]

When it comes to the original Phantom, everyone knows Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, but what about the original Raoul, Steve Barton?

 

Unfortunately, I discovered that Barton died very suddenly of heart failure in 2001. He was 47, and had been in Germany, performing the role of Count Von Krolock in Roman Polanski and Jim Steinman's "Tanz Der Vampire." which was going to be brought to the US before his untimely death. I happened to find a video of him performing the role, with subtitles.

 

I'm convinced that if he had lived to perform this role in America, he would have easily won a Tony, and become a Broadway superstar in his own right.

 

[Nrthwnd]

Hmmm.

 

I just made an intersting order

on Amazon.com of 3 musicals

being issued, end of the month.

 

Interesting of note (to me, anyway)

is the order they can be placed:

 

Past - Present - Future

 

Can't wait to get ALL of them, lol!

PAST - and it's a re-issue of... (finally!) Might be to do with the

first-ever revival (Chita Rivera - Stephanie J.Block) coming up, too.

PRESENT - Still going strong (so I hear) with great Gershwin songs/score.

FUTURE - omgomgomg -

Edited October 6, 2012 by Nrthwnd

[grinch1313]

^There's A Christmas Story musical? I'm definitely going to have to hear that.

[Nrthwnd]

^ The musical has/had already been created,

and has done out-of-town try-outs in a couple

of other major US cities, I believe.

 

Chicago? Los Angeles? Cross-country tour,

to be (sort of) precise, heh heh.

 

Not too sure, but "the word I heard" was that

this one is possibly looking to be the next "Elf,"

"White Christmas" or "The Grinch," which

now sometimes pop up from winter to winter

for the Broadway Holiday Season.

 

Hey, the more the Merrier, hmm?

 

And it's A Christmas Story OMG!

Edited October 6, 2012 by Nrthwnd

[grinch1313]

^I love the movie A Christmas Story. I'm very hopeful for this one. It would be wonderful if it does appear in the Holiday Season.

[TPDave]

I got seatfillers for singing in the rain a couple of weeks ago. It was a nice show but nothing spectacular, I never realised that "The Artist" just shamelessly ripped off the storyline though!

[jray21]

Sorry if this has been posted, but I just saw it today. Netflix has "The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall." It's a film of the actual musical production from 2011. I thought the performers did a really good job. It's great to see the full musical version again. Haven't seen it for a few years.