Musicals

[Woodie Warrior]

I absolutely loved that production of The Sound of Music when it came through St. Louis last year, so hopefully you'll enjoy it as well!

 

Does your line-up ever involve newer shows? Haven't most of those been on the road for a while?

[Nrthwnd]

^ The tours that come through here, are generally more than a year old.

That's just the way Broadway Across Canada works them out, I guess.

We're getting KINKY BOOTS in Feb. in the current schedule. Followed by

CINDERELLA in April.

 

So yeah, they don't seem to go out of their way to make it up here in their

first year's touring. I suspect we won't get any tour of HAMILTON until

"maybe"....2018-19?

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Could be worse. We get shows about 5 years after their release. Still waiting for the Book of Mormon.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Really??? That's terrible! And you're so much closer to New York, than we are. Aren't you?

 

We've gotten Book of Mormon twice in three years, now.

 

And we want it to come back our way, every summer!

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Well, yes, we are closer to New York, but it's still over 1,000 miles. A lot of the problem is that even the big cities in the Midwest aren't that big. If you want theatre, you have to go to Chicago. Hamilton's already playing there. Outside of Chicago, as Paul Simon put it, "a man ain't got no culture."

[Nrthwnd]

Not exactly "musical," but we saw Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo last night. And they were great.

 

They started out, in San Franciso, in the mid-1970s, and we'd seen them at least four times since that beginning.

But it was definitely a decade or more since our last seeing them. It didn't matter. They were still amazing.

 

Dancing en pointe is not easy for any ballerina, let alone a male dancer. And I was constantly astounded at

how much control and focus the company all had in their dance. It was awesome. And some of the "other things"

that went on (they did segments from Swan Lake, and Don Quixote and a very wierd modern piece) just had

most of us falling on the floor, laughing and laughing.

 

They are serious dancers, though. The technique is there for all to see and enjoy.

 

They're fun. And really funny at times. Worth checking out if they travel your way.

It's an all-male dance company, in case you weren't too sure.... (o;

Edited January 24, 2017 by Nrthwnd

[Guy T. Koepp]

^Oh my God! I've seen this show. Absolutely amazing. I hope they come to Nashville! I would love to take my kids to see them.

[Hilltopper39]

I saw the national tour of Book of Mormon in Jacksonville on Saturday. This was my 4th time seeing the show, not the best cast I've seen but good enough. Still such an awesome production, so much fun, so many laughs. I saw Hamilton in New York in November and as hot as that show is right now I've gotta say Book of Mormon is still my favorite musical. Don't get me wrong, Hamilton is good, like really really good, but Book of Mormon is just so much fun every time.

[SharkTums]

^I was wondering about that Jacksonville performance, we've been seeing Groupon's for it for like $30, which is a bit scary!

[Hilltopper39]

Yeah I think the groupon was for some of the weeknight performances and it popped up a few weeks before the show played so they were probably just trying to fill some unsold seats. The theater in Jacksonville is kinda of weird, it's a pretty big room (somewhere around 3000 seats I think?) in a relatively small market that, how can I say this politely, doesn't exactly go crazy for the musical theater/the arts......

 

I couldn't see the balcony but the orchestra level for the Saturday matinee was pretty full, so the show seems to still be pulling good crowds 4 years or so into it's tour, so that's good.

 

And don't get me wrong, the cast was fine, Nabalungi and Elder Cunningham were really good, but some of the other roles were weaker than what I've seen on the previous tours. I was lucky enough to see the original cast minus Gad/Rannels so I'm a little spoiled.

[Nrthwnd]

^ I agree with you about "Mormon." We got the tour here twice out of three years.

For myself, an "every summer" visit would be just fine, lol. The work is solid, especially the book.

[robbalvey]

Just got back from seeing A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder at the Dr. Phillips Center here in Orlando. WOW! What a fun show!!! I never saw this on Broadway and I'm not sure why. I really liked it a lot! The music was great, the show was funny yet smart and the cast was OUTSTANDING!!! Last week we saw Kevin Massey perform at Epcot for the "Disney on Broadway" shows and loved him then and was looking forward to seeing him in this show. I was not disappointed at all! Both him and John Rapson (who plays something like 9 different hilarious characters) were both a treat to watch on stage.

 

The storyline is so much fun! It's a little bit "Sweeny Todd" mixing in some very witty and hilarious dialogue with some very solid musical numbers and great staging. It's so refreshing to see a musical comedy that is also "smart" with it's humor. And that includes some great writing and amazing sight gags!

 

Gentleman's Guide plays at Dr. Phillips through Feb. 12th. If you're a local or in town, GO SEE IT!!! Also, be sure to check their website for the 2017/18 Broadway season. Some fantastic shows coming up! https://www.drphillipscenter.org/

 

Tonight we are Dr. Phillips Center to see A Gentleman's Guide To Love & Murder! Very much looking forward to this show!

 

Just sat down at Dr Phillips Center! Love this theater! So happy to have this amazing venue in Orlando!

 

Last week we saw Kevin Massey sing Newsies & Tarzan at Epcot, tonight we are seeing him in Gentleman's Guide! Yay!

 

 

WOW! Gentleman's Guide was fantastic! Funny, smart, great music, LOVED IT! John Rapson & Kevin Massey were both amazing!

 

Check the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center website for more info about the 2017/18 season! https://www.drphillipscenter.org/

Edited February 8, 2017 by robbalvey

[Nrthwnd]

^ Man, that place is getting some great (to me) shows.

[Nrthwnd]

Yay!!! We're finally getting to see this tonight! Even with snow still coming down, and icy conditions all over town,

we are NOT going to miss this show! I bought the tickets well over one year ago. So... miss this?... HAH!

 

Unfortunately, the SEX will NOT be in these HEELS, as we are wearing thick, insulated snowboots tonight.

 

Not - sexy - at - all.

Finally tonight! And great seats, too.

[Guy T. Koepp]

^Such a great show! I would see it again in a heartbeat. Have a great time!

[Nrthwnd]

Kinky Boots - was - AWESOME!

 

And the actor playing Lola was so tall, when he got his heels on, he was literally two feet head and shoulders above everybody else!

And he was amazing in everything, from the high energy numbers to the ballads, especially "I'm Not My father's Son" sung with Charlie.

Also, a shout out to Harvey Fierstein for a really smart, funny, and thought out book.

 

The Angels were great, the shoe workers were just right - and I the character of Don! I knew how the final scene went with

everybody, so Don was an especially funny and had a very awesome entrance, himself!

 

And I think at least half the audience was up, just before the last lights went out on the finale. They also did a call for a donation set up,

that if you donated $1000 (that's U$ too), it would go to all the AIDS charities they were visiting - but you would get in return..

 

Your very own pair of CUSTOM KINKY BOOTS ! "Two and one half feet, of tubular..." well you know the rest. But that was

amazing to hear. Makes me wonder if anybody up here actually donated, to get a pair, lol.

 

If KB comes through town again, I am definitely up for seeing it again, like "Book of Mormon".

 

EDIT: I wanted to add, there was this amazing moment, when the back of a pair of thigh high heels were FLASHED literally, to the audience!

The "diamonds" encrusted around the back of the heel on these, just wowed the crowd, and their was APPLAUSE for them, LOL! So KUDOS to the costume designer for this show!

This was our Kinky Boots Tour Cast. And yes, Lola was that tall, in flat sneakers!

[Nrthwnd]

Just found out ( http://www.broadway.com ) that J. Harrison Ghee, who played a wonderful Lola

here in "Kinky Boots" in Vancouver just last week, has now gotten the chance to make Lola in "Kinky Boots"

his Broadway Debut!, taking over from Toderick Hall, currently playing Lola in KB.

 

Congrats to J. Harrison! And, of course... Break A Stiletto!

J.Harrison Ghee (l.) taking over the part of Lola on Brdwy, from Toderick Hall (r.) March 6th.

[CedarFlags]

I just listened to the music from Dear Evan Hansen, and I think the show could be really great. It's definitely geared for a younger audience, but it has moments that are really powerful. Also, the male lead, Ben Platt, has got SUPERHUMAN vocal stamina if he's actually singing this all 8 times a week.

 

Evan Hansen is a lonely high school senior who views the world as though he's "waving through a window" (his first big solo song, which is one of the standouts). In a world of 24/7 connection through social media, which is really his only connection, he feels like he's left out of real life. Through a tragedy at his school, and a white lie that goes viral, Evan gets thrust into the spotlight and has to deal with the struggle of keeping it up. He is getting a chance to belong to a group and be part of something, but it's based on a lie. Although he wants so badly to connect, he doesn't want people to know the real him. Social / digital media plays a big part in the story telling, and how it shapes our views on our lives and the lives of others.

 

The Act 1 finale, "You Will Be Found" is incredible and is really the heart of the show. The music in Act 2 doesn't stand out as much, but it also seems like there's a lot of story that happens outside of the soundtrack songs.

 

this vid has clips of both songs I mentioned:

 

[coasterbill]

Just got back from seeing A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder at the Dr. Phillips Center here in Orlando. WOW! What a fun show!!! I never saw this on Broadway and I'm not sure why. I really liked it a lot! The music was great, the show was funny yet smart and the cast was OUTSTANDING!!! Last week we saw Kevin Massey perform at Epcot for the "Disney on Broadway" shows and loved him then and was looking forward to seeing him in this show. I was not disappointed at all! Both him and John Rapson (who plays something like 9 different hilarious characters) were both a treat to watch on stage.

 

We saw this show on Broadway about a week before the production closed. We usually go to 1-2 shows each year so we always have a few shows on our radar but we actually got those tickets as a Christmas gift and had never heard of the show going in. Needless to say we were really impressed. It's definitely one of the funniest Broadway shows we've ever seen.

 

To be honest, that theater in Orlando seems incredibly impressive and it must be great to have a venue like that so close by. It seems like a much nicer theater than a lot of the ones in New York, especially the Walter Kerr Theatre where this show was running.

[Nrthwnd]

We went and saw Newsies: On Screen earlier today.

 

It was great! I actually liked parts of it better than the live stage show!

I think it helped, that the four leads came back to Los Angeles to film it at the

Pantages Theater back in September. They were all great, as was the entire cast.

 

The really neat thing for us, was that we had seen the tour of it last summer, and this

filming had the actual sets from that tour AND several of the secondary roles were

filled by those we saw on the tour as well. Including the actor who played Pulitzer,

and the young boy who played Les, AND the woman playing Medda Larkin, owner of the

theater where the boys take refuge! So it was great to see them all again.

 

Some times I felt that they should have filmed more full stage shots, especially with all the

dancing in the show. But it's a minor detail. I will definitely buy it, if they release it on DVD.

This was the movie poster displayed outside our movie theatre.

Edited February 23, 2017 by Nrthwnd

[robbalvey]

So tonight we saw a "non-equity, but fully licensed" production of the recent Broadway revival of Pippin. Full disclosure: This production was being put on by a company I had never heard of and it was traveling to smaller markets and we saw it in "Lakeland, Florida" which is a place I had never been before. I didn't have high expectations, but having seen the Broadway version and the original North American tour of the show...

 

I WAS BLOWN AWAY!!!

 

It's the same sets, costumes, staging, acrobatics, EVERYTHING that we saw on Broadway and the original tour. The talent was FANTASTIC!!! The girl who played the Leading Player killed it. Pippin was wonderful, and the rest of the cast made me forget I was watching a non-equity version of the show. I feel in many ways when someone says "non-equity" that means the show won't be good, but that's not always the case.

 

I have to be honest, when we walked into the theater, and it seemed like an older "college campus" style venue and the clientele was a bit like stepping onto a Holland America cruise ship, I was a bit worried. But seriously, we couldn't believe what we we were watching and how close this show came to the Broadway revival. And sure, there were MINOR little details you could pick out, mostly to do with some of the acrobatics (like they had a balance wheel at the start of the 2nd act instead of the balance blocks & cylinders. Not a big deal.) But all the tricks and acrobats were all there. Fire jugglers, silks, lyra, strong men, knife throwers, balance beams, costume quick changes, magic tricks, etc.

 

If you're not familiar with Pippin it's not the easiest show to describe. It was created by the same guy that did Wicked, many years prior, and it's basically a "show within a show" presented by an acrobatic theater troupe. The story has amazing twists and turns you don't think it will take. The music is FANTASTIC and you'll be singing "We've got Magic to do..." and "No Time At All" the rest of the way home. Many people I've talked to have no idea what the show is about, but absolutely *LOVE* it once they've seen it. It's a bizarre show in a fun, whimsical, funny and entertaining way. In short, there is nothing "normal" about Pippin at all, which is probably why I like it so much!

 

The show continues it's tour through June 18th hittings some "interesting" places that I would think you wouldn't normally see a Broadway show of this caliber in (Scranton, PA; Hays, KS; Flint, MI; Norfolk, VA to name a few) and you can get the full show listing here: http://www.pippinontour.com/

 

Seriously, though, this *IS* the LEGIT show! What we saw tonight was as close to the Broadway/Original Tour productions as you can get! We highly recommend it!!!

 

Here's some photos....

Lakeland is about an hour away from Orlando, so of course we listened to some appropriate music on the way...

 

It's not often we get to go to show at theaters with awesome 1970s giant neon pink signs! lol

 

Yay! We are here! As you can see, the graphics package is the same as the Broadway version, but we weren't too sure what to expect.

 

I gotta be honest, I was worried walking into the theater. It's older, certainly has a very "plain" feel to it.

 

Yay! Orchestra pit! Live music! That's a huge plus!

 

When I'm used to venues like NYC Broadway theaters or the Dr. Phillips Center, this place didn't compare. But, the show was here, and it was GREAT so that's all that mattered!

 

Even the curtain sort of just felt like a giant old bed sheet. Not trying to be down on the place, but just being honest. I mean, really, it turned out to be "fine" and it's more of a "don't judge a book by it's cover" scenario. I would absolutely come back here.

 

Again, same graphics package as Broadway. And the show did a great job of living up to expectations!

 

 

The following are some photos from the show. You can see that all the acrobatics, set pieces, and props are all included in this version! Very impressive!

The actor playing Pippin was just fantastic!

 

Same with the Leading Player. They both totally nailed it!

 

And Pippin is one of those shows where how they are presenting the story is almost as important as the story itself. This staging did not disappoint one bit!

 

By the end of the first act we knew this was the right choice to come see this production! Also, I was very happy to see the Pippin curtain replace the giant bed sheet! lol

 

Take a bow, cast! You guys deserve it! Seriously, having seen the Broadway and the original tour version of the show, this did not disappoint at all! Here's more details about the tour: http://www.pippinontour.com/index.php

 

And their teaser video:

Edited February 21, 2017 by robbalvey

[Hilltopper39]

I know a good bit of the music from Pippin and know basically nothing about the show, but I have always wanted to check it out. Sounds like fun.

 

Also, just curious but what does "Non-equity, fully licensed" mean? I did a google search and could only find message board stuff with people arguing about unions and stuff. Probably some kind of Broadway version of the Kings Dominion thread.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

The Actors Equity Association is the largest union for live performers. Non equity means these actors are not part of that union.

 

http://www.actorsequity.org

 

The show looks very good. It's coming to a couple of places not too far from us, but far enough that some planning is necessary. We'll have to look into it.

[Hilltopper39]

Oh okay, thanks that makes sense. I read "equity" and was thinking something to do with profits from the shows or something, but that makes sense.

[Nrthwnd]

Brent Carver, who won the 1993 TONY for his original role of Molina in "Kiss of The Spider Woman", is coming

back home to Vancouver for a few concerts next week! We're all so excited to see him, after so, so long.

 

I actually did a couple of musicals with him, when we were all young and starting out in theatre. One

of them was West Side Story (1971), where he played "Riff," leader of The Jets. Good times.

Brent Carver, with Anthony Crivello. They both won TONYs,

as did Chita Rivera, for their roles. And the musical won

1993's Best Musical TONY Award, too.