The 66th Annual Tony Awards: Watchin' it Live....(EDITED: Now with video!)

Pre-Show:
Dang it, Tonys. Somehow - even when its been a bad season and I'm not excited about you....somehow I'm still excited right before you start. DON'T DISAPPOINT ME.

Predications:
I bet this year has been the highest grossing year on record. AGAIN.

Wants:
Please, oh please do some sort of special on the Les Mis movie! I want to see some more!

Oooh.... and I see Book of Mormon will be performing the opening number? I have no problem with celebrating all of theatre - past and present - at the Tony's but I get the distinct feeling we're still showcasing Book of Mormon because we have no other real shows to show off this year. That doesn't bode well.



CAT. IF YOU DECIDE TO LEAVE NOW, I'M NOT LETTING YOU BACK IN. DECIDE.

Aaaaaand.... it's beginning!
Opening Number:
Again. So out of all the musicals this year we couldn't come up with one opening number to create from them?
Although, if you did do something where last's year Best Musical presented the opening every year - as they mentioned - I guess that could be interesting. Sort of like a hand off from one year to the next.



Neil Patrick Harris: 
I like you, but....

Okay, another opening number!
What if life were more like theatre?
Okay, while I thought that was going to be really bland (because I'm so tired of songs like this) that actually turned out really fun! I'm shocked! Good job, Tonys! Who wrote that?
(EDIT: Apparently David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger from Cry Baby co-authored it as well as the ending recap song.)

Ahahahaha! Paul Rudd is explaining what a featured actress is. "They will pay to see these actresses who are as sweet as a Tibetan cake." Also very fun. We're off to a fantastic start! Since last year's introductions were really rough, this is awesome!

Um.... I don't know anything about the plays this year guys. I'm sorry I can't comment on any of them. I'm lame like that. Although from what I've heard I think Other Desert Cities is gonna sweep, especially since its kicking off winning the first award.

Whoa! And we're already kicking off the showcases with Newsies.
Gasp! Wasn't this the whole reason for Broadway's Moment in the Sun? Whoa, using that up awful early in the show, aren't we? *sarcasmsnarkysarcasm*
Seize the Day. Smart choice, guys. 
I wouldn't say the choreography is anything super special, but its really solid and well-handled. Its got a great stylization for it. Not as crazy about the newspaper work, but eh.
Nice showcase. That would make me really excited about seeing it if I was just going off this.



OH MY GOSH. GHOST IS GOING TO PERFORM. I've only seen clips. This should be intriguing.

Once took Best Orchestrations which I can totally get behind. While the movie itself is slow, it's gorgeous musically and I can see how it would be beautifully worked.

Best Choreography goes to Newsies. No surprise there.

Oh...Neil Patrick Harris....

Les Mis movie mention! *kermitflail*

Bernadette Peters! YAAAAAY! Finally. So far we've only had Patti Lupone & you as our broadway babies show up.

Follies showcase is up.
WHAT IS HAPPENING?! Oh my gosh, I don't know this show at all, but this does nothing for me. The number from the 2001 production ("I'm Still Here") was so, so much better. I still remember that performance. This is so...schizophrenic. I'm sure it's great in context, but.... not out of it.
AHHH! STOP! PLEASE STOP!



AHAHA! There's a guy in full Lion King costume just hanging out in the audience behind NPH. That's pretty funny. That will be even funnier if he doesn't feature later in the show.

Seriously, I've always wanted to know Follies better, but if I was going merely off that clip alone I'd run the other direction. ("Buddy's Blues" was performed if anyone knows it.)

Why do we want to see the cruise version of Hairspray again? Why?

Now Ghost.
Yes, that Ghost. Okay.... so they picked "Unchained Melody."
I have really strong ties to that song, so uh... unfortunately it just feels like its being butchered. I'm not sure that's what's actually happening, but I don't like it.
No, no, no, I didn't like these projections before and I don't like them now.
I HAVE NO IDEA WHATS GOING ON. IS THAT THE GUY THAT MURDERED HIM!?
Ahhhh! When you pick songs where everyone sings all at once for the one time you're on national television and you can't understand the lyrics, uh.... 
I have no idea what any of that was about.



Once walks away with Best Direction. No surprise there. I'm calling it, I bet Once will finish us off with production numbers for the evening. The one legit piece up this year. (If, again, a tad boring at times its still pretty beautiful.) I'd go see it.

In the middle of speeches, I'm following Twitter hashtags, broadwayworld.com & Facebook. I feel like I'm watching with people even though I'm not! (I didn't ask anyone else to watch with me. I wasn't putting anyone through this with me.)

Jesus Christ Superstar. In the over ten years I've been watching the Tonys, I've now seen this performed on here three times.
Title song. Yup.
Although, really, I'm not sure what other song you'd showcase from this show. Heaven on Their Minds? Not as exciting. Not as catchy?
Fun fact: This was one of the first shows I ever watched performed on the Tonys, actually. I walked in on it in 2000 and happened to catch their number and Kiss Me, Kate's. The next year I started watching the full broadcast.
I don't like the weird dancing shadow-girls in the background. This feels like something from the 60's. Is this one set in the 60's? Choreography could support that.
Every time this show gets done, everyone is determined to modern the life out of it.
Whoa. Crowd went wild.



Matthew Broderick is in Nice Work if You Can Get It?

Ahaha! Amazing Spiderman commerical during the Tony's.

Hm.... I thought I'd seen it three times, but the Internet Broadway Database is telling me this is the only other time its been revived since 2000. Maybe another case of re-performing? My bad.

Chairman of the American Theatre Wing......but with ANGELA LANSBURY!
They knew they had to bring him out with someone that would keep people's attention. Or, at least she'll keep theatre people's attention.
Oh wow. NPH is hanging via Spiderman style behind them. It's a little silly, but it's at least getting us through this very boring and expected spiel. Very nice. Applause.

Hm... everyone is commenting how this is the worst Tony's ever. Amusement. That's the comment every year. Considering how low my expectations were for this telecast, I'm partially enjoying myself.

Christian Borle for Peter & the Starcatcher. No surprise there. I would really like to see that one. I really wish they'd show clips from plays.
Aww...! He thanked his mom!

Hey, its Matthew Morrison! He has a beard.
Nice Work If You Can Get It.
Ooo..... she has a really pretty voice. I wasn't paying attention. Who is she? She looks familiar. KELLI O'HARA. No wonder! (Light in the Piazza.)
Matthew Broderick is Matthew Broderick, but at least I've followed what's going on in this segment!
Well his segment got boring and I'm not crazy about the choreography, but I'd go see it for her! Gorgeous!



Once takes Best Book. That's got to be a tough show to get right, so good job.

I'm noticing a severe lack of Broadway royalty this year so far. That makes me sad. So far we've gotten Lansbury, Bernadette, Lupone & O'Hara. James Earl Jones is there, we just haven't seen him as much yet.

Once takes Best Sound Design.

"The Broadway League is proud to announce another record-breaking season."
Blah blah blah blah......blah blah..... Wait, some shows this year featured unexpected melodies? Did I misunderstand that? Wait.... I think she was talking about plays. Sorry. I can accept that. I was gonna say, did you miss "Unchained Melody" earlier?

Play Segment:
Peter & the Starcatcher clip! I would love to see this! Cute!
Okay, the plays are really rocking it tonight. Maybe it was an awesome year for plays this year. If so, that is awesome.
One Man, Two Guvner's is freaking hysterical! Look that clip up if you missed it! (I'll try to add in video clips later.)
"STELLA!"





I finally found the One Man, Two Guv'nors bit in the above clip, but you'll have to fast forward to 2:24 to see it. I think its worth it. Also, that clip will feature its segment for A Year in Plays if you're interested in that as well.

Um. Why is Josh Groban going to be on the Tony's?

Judy Kaye had a great awards speech. My favorite so far. Always knew her name, but did not realize she was the original Carlotta or that she was Emma Goldman in Ragtime! Two of my favorites!

Okay, Neil Patrick Harris, you've been great, but can we get someone new next year?

Porgy & Bess is next! AUDRA MCDONALD! NORM LEWIS!
If you don't know Mr. Lewis, you should check out the song "The Devil You Know" from Side Show. He's got a great voice. And if you don't know Mrs. McDonald, well, you should check out anything she's ever done. *love*

Neil Patrick Harris is going to sing again.... In the classic "let's sing songs from every broadway show" segment. I swear they do a segment like this every year. I like hearing all the songs and references but I wish we could find some new way to accomplish this. Am I being picky there?



Oh well. At least it lead into Best Score....Sheryl Crow? Sheryl Crow's presenting? Oh. She wrote for something entitled something Diner. Okay.
Whoa! Bonnie & Clyde was nominated for something? (Wildhorn.)

Goes to Newsies. Eeeh.... I've heard some of the new music. The original music is great, but....

"LOOK MA! A TONY!"
Okay, that was cute.

PORGY & BESS.
Excuse me, I'm gone for a second.
Man I loved hearing her sing "Summertime" and I looooved all the singing. Lots of awesome energy. So, so sad I can't see that one. I don't know this show that well and I would love for this to be my introduction.
This reminds me of the year the Ragtime revival stole the show.



Rock of Ages commercial. LOL. Um. Yes, I will be going to see this. Probably opening weekend. Even though I'm not entirely sure it won't be terrible. In fact, I think it might be. But man the marketing's been great on it. And I've heard that's supposedly Tom Cruise's actual singing and if so, then that's phenomenal. (You can find clips on amazon.)

Josh Groban is introducing Once? Is there a connection here I'm missing?
Once seems fine and pretty, but this song wouldn't make me go see the show if I knew nothing about it.



I'm confused why that girl is standing in the middle of this song and looking confused. I suspect she is the Girl, but.... so far her whole feature is to stand there and look overwhelmed. I did like that bridge section though. Nice build. Wait, didn't they meet over a vacuum cleaner? Is that still in there?

WHY DO WE CARE THAT THIS THE "FIRST TIME EVER FROM THE ATLANTIC OCEAN"?! I don't care that you're going to reshow Hairspray. They keep reperforming on the Tony's. It's a great show, but pick another one.
Ah. Apparently there was a Josh Groban slam in Once and its an inside joke from the movie. That's pretty cute.

Also, as much as I like "Falling Slowly" I'm impressed they didn't choose that one. Good job. 

I always like seeing the Broadway signs on the Tonys. They always make me happy.

Evita is coming up next. With Ricky Martin.

Jim Parsons introducing Best Play! Yay!
Whoa, Tony goes to Clybourne Park? I'm surprised. Is that an upset?

*blinks* It's Ziva from NCIS! Introducing Evita. With Ricky Martin.
That went about as expected. He was okay.
And in the feature for Evita, Eva Peron got to sing I think two lines.
I've never been able to get into this show.



They're really pushing this Hairspray from the High Seas thing. That's really getting old. What was it last year?

They also keep mention---

LES MIS TRAILER! *kermitflail!*



They also keep mentioning Hugh Jackman coming up so I'm crossing my fingers it'll be something awesome with the Les Mis movie. SHOW US RUSSELL CROWE.
Seriously, everytime I wonder if Crowe will be able to sing "Stars" all I hear in the back of my mind is:
"Can he sing, can he sing?"
"Hear, I have a note--"
"LET ME SEE IT."

Godspell was revived? CAN WE PICK OTHER SHOWS TO REVIVE?!
Bring Back Birdie. I want to see Bring Back Birdie on the Tonys.
Oh YES. DO A FLOP SEGMENT. OH PLEASE DO A FLOP SEGMENT. Carrie's already back!!
That would be awesome.



Awww! Is that poor guy trying to pick up some of the confetti? Maybe not.

Patti Lupone! Mandy Patinkin! Okay. That segment was great. Introduction for Best Revival of a Musical.
PORGY & BESS! WIN! WIN! WIN!

Happy, happy, happy....

Aaaand right after that.... FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER ON THE TONYS.... LIVE ..... Hairspray  on the HIGH SEAS!
I'm not kidding. They just said that.
Why is this getting so much importance. Seriously. They're on a cruise ship. It's a musical on a cruise ship. This is nothing new, people.



Darn it, Hairspray. I want to hate this and your music is so freaking catchy.

Wait, wait, wait.... Leap of Faith will be our final performer for the evening?

And Hugh Jackman is just getting a special award? I don't care! SHOW US THE MOVIE.

Porgy & Bess is trending on twitter. That's hysterical and awesome. 

I love how the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre gets presented earlier, not televised, and given a five second clip of the speech, while Hugh Jackman is about to receive some sort of award for....what exactly? I mean, he's awesome, but uh....
For his "extraordinary contributions to the Broadway community."
I know he's raised a lot of money for the community, and that's really, really wonderful, but.... Lifetime Achievement? LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT?! Nothing?
His speech, though, especially to his wife was really sweet. I'll give him that. He always seems so nice. She apparently surprised him, he didn't know she was going to be the one presenting it to him. Cute.

"I'm sad to announce that that production of Hairspray was just taken over by pirates....of Penzance."
Okay, that was sort of cute NPH. (He's been doing mashups all night.)

The Guy from Once took Best Performance for an Actor in a Musical.
He's thanking the ensemble! Good job, you!
Oh my goodness. Just gave a beautiful speech about his mom who just lost her life to cancer.

What is Candance Bergan wearing exactly? I just looked up.
The guy from One Man, Two Guv'ners won for Best Performance by an Actor in a Play! I'm so excited for him - that performance earlier was so, so funny! YAY!
He seriously just beat out Philip Seymour Huffman, James Earl James and Frank Langella. I would be speechless too.
Awww! Another great speech! Applause, applause.

Oh.... Here we go. Leap of Faith.
I can't pinpoint why I didn't like that.... I did at least understand everything that was going on, which after some of the other performances of the night, is a major plus. But I just didn't really like it. Esparaza looks really out of place in this show. There's a ton of energy here, they're really working hard. Anyone else? What did you think?



YES. Last year's winners of Best Musical (Book of Mormon) will be presenting for Best Musical. I can totally get behind that. Much better than Chris Rock. I was kind of dreading the announcement of who it would be.

Ahahaha! I don't know who this lady is (winner of Best Supporting Actress in a Play) but telling presenter Christopher Plummer "Sir, you were my first crush, When that whistle blew in Sound of Music...." was super cute.
I like her. She's really funny. And genuine. She was from the play Venus in Fur. 



WHAT DO YOU MEAN COMPLETE SIGNAL LOSS?!

.....
....

Okay. We're back. Dish, don't do that to me.

AUDRA MCDONALD. AUDRA MCDONALD MUST WIN.
(Best Leading Actress in a Musical)
Hey! Bonnie & Clyde got another nomination!
AUDRA MCDONALD FOR THE WIN! Her first Tony for a Leading Actress. Yes. You rock, Audra.

Ah. Royal Caribbean was one of the Tony's sponsors. That explains a lot.

We're up to Best Musical.
Winning Best Musical changes your life. You're transformed from an artist...to an artiste.
Tonight, we, who are the Broadway establishment!

That was really funny, guys. Good job.

I wish I could find video of that. I'll keep looking.

So Once or Newsies?
I'm calling Once. 

Once! 
 
That introduction was so good, these guys should host next year.

So! Bad to okay productions, a couple great ones, a mostly wearying host and an enjoyable evening mostly because of my low expectations. And, despite it all, because I still love theatre.

I do like this writing-the-end-song-throughout-the-show bit they've done two years now. I really liked the rap last year (mostly because Miranda wrote it.)



Goodnight everybody! If anybody else watched it, I would love to hear your thoughts!

Things.

1) The Tony Nominations Happened?
Apparently they were announced today. I just happened to visit Playbill. I guess my body still has some sort of internal Tony clock that tells me when to check in. 
Anything of interest? Um... Newsies is up for Best Musical along with Once, but honestly other than that not much catches my eye. Peter & the Starcatcher is up for Best Play. Porgy & Bess is up for Best Revival. Yeah, I'll still check in at Tony time, but there's nothing here that really makes me want to keep up outside of those. Once received the most nom's this year clocking in at 11. Which doesn't surprise me either.
Sigh. In the Heights, I miss you. Miranda, come back. (Or Ahrens & Flaherty. Or Guettel. Someone, come back!)

2) It is May. And I hate May.
May, can we let bygones be bygones? You mostly don't like me. I mostly don't like you. You've set me into stressful fits of rage the last two years in a row. It's true, that was more related to work issues. The computer & whatnot. But let's just chill this year. Truce? Truce?

3) So you're preparing for Mother's Day, huh?
Actually, right now we're in a flurry of activity revamping our (entire) wedding process. It's becoming a huge investment all across the board and due to a sudden deadline we have to have part of it done by the end of this week. And then I need to update & revamp our portfolio. And then comb back over all our social media to see if it's a solid representation of us. And then make it through my wedding class in June - which I'm super excited about - but its still a touch intimidating.
Though I did learn that apparently all these classes are done only through the OKC center. Which means people fly from all over the nation to attend these classes. Cool!
And yes, Mothers Day is next week so that'll take precedence very soon. We're very busy for currently not having any daily work to do.

4) But I do get to see Holly tomorrow!
Holly and I are having a Trigun day. Season 1! The happy season! And then Phoenix Diner! It's a plan. I'm excited.

5) Again. My Kids are Freaking Cute. 
And just in case there was some part of you that doubted my kids are indeed the cutest. ever.

Pic shamelessly stolen from Amy. Great shot, Amy!

LOOK AT THAT FACE.

Seriously. Happiest face ever. I love this little now-somehow-five birthday baby. :)

6) The Moose is Back.
There is a theatre in NY called The Beautiful Soup who is reviving Moose Murders. Moose Murders, which opened in 1983, is the Carrie of plays. The big flop. The original of flop-dom. The show that played 13 previews, and opened and closed on the same night. 1 performance.

Personally, I love that they're doing this. Maybe it's just because I want to see Bring Back Birdie. But I've often thought I'd love to be near a theatre that once a season revived a major flop (or terrible show.) And whether they play it for laughs or try to attempt it legit, their intent could change depending on the show. Just giving it one more life.

They even made a trailer for it. I love it.



7) Oh, and speaking of "The Flop...."
There will be a cast recording of the recent Off-Broadway revival of Carrie! YAY! I'll get to hear Marin Mazzie tackle "And Eve Was Weak" which is very exciting.
Sadly, the song list does not include "Out for Blood." Somehow the song about hacking a pig got cut.
Oh, Carrie. You make me smile.

8) But Once Upon a Time doesn't.
This is actually the first time I've discussed Once on here I think. I almost hate to now.
Look.
.....
Look.
I've been watching this show all season. Because it's bad.
I'm sorry if you like this show.
But....it is bad. Laughably.
However, this weeks episode was not necessarily laughably bad. It was just downright painful.
And despite the fact that I've been watching this show because its bad, this episode was so bad that I don't even know that I'm willing to finish out the series. Even though we're only two episodes away.
Because it was THAT BAD.

Can you even comprehend that level of terrible? Because I sure couldn't

Thank goodness for the Dark Knight trailer.

Schmaltz Never Dies: The Phantom Sequel Review (Edited)

EDITED: "Oh my gosh, you're adding MORE WORDS?"
I am.
I want to establish that this actually isn't the worst thing I've ever seen and reiterate that this review isn't an attempt to just slam the show. If you take it as a stand alone piece without the original then its mediocre, bland and still pretty bad but not to the level it falls in connection with the original story. The whole problem is that it not only ignores the lessons learned at the end of the original, but really seems set out to destroy that they ever happened in the first place. That's what bothers me the most.
No, the worst production I have ever seen actually falls to The 10 Commandments: The Musical which is available on DVD if any of you are as curious as I was. It was filmed in 2006 and stars Val Kilmer. I kid you not.
At least Bad Year for Tomatoes had Piney.

Back to Original Review:

This is a very, very long review. I'm not sure you're actually that interested. Suffice it to say the story was bad, the lyrics were bad, the music was good and the sets were eh except for one amazing Peacock visual. There, I've summed up my entire review in one sentence, but this is Phantom and I like to elaborate. A lot. So here is my very detailed review, if you're so inclined.  


 So....Love Never Dies.


Hm.

If you're unfamiliar with that title then you should know that this is the musical sequel to The Phantom of the Opera. Yes, the musical sequel. Composed by Webber himself. There was a theatrical release of the stage show last Wednesday night in certain AMC theatres and I would've never known about it if Will hadn't asked me one night why I hadn't told him. (I had no idea they were doing this. Why would they be doing this?!) But I was thankful for the opportunity to a) see it and b) not pay as much money as the theatre would require. Since I knew what I was getting into. (Oo, foreshadowing.)

Also, this was my first musical sequel. Yay! Having these opportunities come around so rarely I was thrilled to snatch one up.

First off: technical issues. It didn't help that the show was recorded badly. During the four or five large ensemble numbers, they had failed to record the chorus correctly (at least that's what we were told was wrong.) Therefore you essentially heard the faintest bit of singing of the chorus in the background along with the orchestra and then suddenly out of nowhere you'd hear the lead break in incredibly loudly. It was most amusing in "Bathing Beauty" where Meg takes to yelling out what kind of bathing suit she's wearing. So you'd hear:
"bathing beauty, on the beach, bathing beauty, wave hello---"
"STRIPES!!"
"what a cutie, what a peach, bathing beauty--"
"DOTS!!"

I'm not even joking. I assured Brad he really didn't want to hear that song anyway.
Though, the manager did come out (after Brad went and pointed out the problem) and gave everyone free passes. So they did work to fix it, even though it wasn't really their fault to begin with.

Yes, speaking of my friends, Brad & Regina actually came with me. You know you're loved when you can convince your friends to come see (of all things) Love Never Dies with you when they have - not only zero interest - but interest in the negatives. Thanks for being such good sports, guys. :)

So how does it rate up?
Sigh. Well. I guess it all depends on what context you put it in. Are you really looking at it as a sequel or as its own stand alone piece? Neither is good, but one is slightly better than the other. But since this is set out and marketed as a sequel, that's the context we're going with. (Also, while I can't really attach the two, I still have trouble considering it without the first.)

Look, when they first announced the Phantom sequel for real I laughed hysterically. I've heard for  years that he was working on it, but it seemed so ridiculous - and the book he was originally basing it on was so ridiculous (Phantom of Manhattan, by Fredrick Forsyth) - that this whole thing has felt like a total joke. But I was also upset, because the last thing I wanted them to do was ruin the original. So I saw no good coming out of this.
That being said though, guys - honestly - if they could have pulled this off I would love to be happy for them. If Phantom had been the first show to pull off the musical sequel successfully, I think I would have loved that. So yes, I'm a Phan - and I'm even a Phangirl to a solid extent - but I'm still working to make this is a pretty unbiased review. That's my aim. 

(If you want a track by track review, I recently came across this one at a blog called Musical Cyberspace that's pretty awesome. It refers to the original production. The DVD/Theatrical Release is the new Australian production with a newcomer named Ben Lewis as our Phantom.)

The....er... Better Than Expected?

Look, this show isn't good. But from the original reviews I read that first preview night to what I saw tonight, I can tell you there at least have been some improvements. The biggest one lies with the ending - not that it really changes it that much, I guess - but its something and I won't spoil it.

In the beginning, I remember Webber talking about how few times he wanted to reference the original show musically speaking and I was disappointed in that. When you attempt a musical sequel you can't just abandon the music of the original. I'm kind of biased here, because I LOVE musical references and music attached to characters and plot points, etc. In terms of a musical, it can add so much more depth to the show and not necessarily feel like a "oh, I had to see the first one to get this" moment. So whether they were originally placed there or not, there are a lot of them now and they do add a lot to the show. They're not all great, but the majority of them are, and I was glad to see them there.
Speaking of the music, Webber can still create great melodies (ooh! but he steals! Puccini! blah blah, okay, whatever....). I actually really love the instrumentals of "Beneath the Moonless Sky" but the lyrics, oy. Never mind. We'll get there. For the most part, the music is what it should be when it should be: pretty, lush, or vaudeville.

Thankfully, the Phantom is not completely emo. He does actually threaten to kidnap Gustave (Christine's child) if she doesn't sing. Obviously I'm not promoting kidnapping, but that is something the original Phantom would have done. It's the only moment we really see that menace, that control still there instead of this sobbing teenager. Now - again - this moment should never have to happen because he had redemption and learned the lesson of love at the end of the original GAH this sequel is NOT VALID but hey. It's the only moment in the show where he didn't feel like a complete wimp. I wonder if this part was added in to the new production.
Actually, a few scenes after that he and Christine have this great moment where he's all "no, you go now, I understand" and she's all "No, I'll sing for you anyway" and it's actually kind of sweet and you can see an actual friendship there. And it was great! But then IN THE VERY NEXT SCENE HE'S IN he's betting - yes, betting - Raoul that she'll sing and stay with him instead of leaving with Raoul.

Sheesh.
Do you see? Do you see you can't say anything good about this production without an exception tagged along with it?

And last but certainly not least.... The PEACOCK. During Christine's aria she's dressed in this costume that perfectly compliments this gorgeous peacock background that makes such an incredibly beautiful visual. Granted, you have no idea why she's a giant peacock, because there is absolutely NO CONTEXT for it but it's still really, really pretty and you no longer care by this point. 

The Bad

The scene I was actually looking forward to the most was "The Beauty Underneath" which is when the Phantom takes Gustave down to his....apartment/lair. When the first reviews started coming in preview night I heard over and over again about how this scene is essentially like an acid trip. Singing Medusa headed chandeliers, half human, half ape figures pushing around a tray, etc. (Those are the only two particulars I remember.) Well, they've changed that. Instead you now get about six glass pillars filled with "freak" people (mermaids, long fingernails, etc.) and some very random, weird and very disturbing all skeleton human/horse figure prancing around in the middle of it all. (And I do mean disturbing in a bad, bad way.) 

Also, why at the beginning of the show mention that Christine, Raoul & Gustave have two whole weeks to play in America? Why? That never comes into play again. And I can't believe for a second that these events play out over TWO WEEKS. It feels like three days. Suddenly, it's "tomorrow night" you're singing the aria. 

The lack of spectacle. This is Coney Island. Sure, there are a few pops here and there of the acts and the people, but not really. This show could have been set anywhere. Coney Island has no effect on the story or, apparently, the set. Maybe its just because we're spoiled by the lush sets & costumes of the original Phantom, but except for the Peacock scene, something is distinctly lacking here. Especially with the inspiration they could have pulled from Coney Island during that time period.

The names. Phantasma? Mister Y? Really? You don't have anything more clever? Is that nitpicking? I can't tell anymore.

Couldn't we give Gustave some character? Some more lines besides "It's so beautiful, it's so beautiful, so strange & beautiful" and "Daddy, play with me"? It sure didn't feel like it. And why does he have to be prophetic? Why can't he just be a (fairly) normal kid? Why is he obsessed with the strange and dark at ten years old? Kid, have you even seen strange and dark yet? Considering you're in the care of Raoul & Christine, I doubt it.

It is nice to see Raoul raise the question "Why Does She Love Me?" but its only nice because you've been wondering that same thing for the past hour and half. We have no idea why she loves Raoul anymore. They've thrown his character so far from the direction of his original that he has no redeeming qualities left. He yells at his son. He yells at his wife. He gambles and drinks their entire life savings away. And not once (until the end when its way too late) do we ever see any kind of tenderness towards any of them. Indeed, the choice has been made way too easy for Christine.

Also unfortunate is the trend towards younger Phantoms. I suppose you could blame this towards the recent craze of Ramin Karmiloo, but I really think it started back with the movie. The Phantom really, really needs to be so much older than Christine. That is not played with here at all. Yes, at two points his wig is knocked off and he looks older than her. But most of the time....? He looks 20. And indeed, part of that is because its a theatrical release and not the stage and you're seeing it so up close. But it doesn't help the story at all.

The Ugly (Or: What Did Real Harm to the Production)
(Also, Major Spoilers. Well. Probably Ones You Could Guess Anyway, But Still. Spoilers.)

I knew we were in even deeper trouble when they still listed Fredrick Forsyth's name as a credit across the screen as the beginning. I can only assume for the inspirations from his book. Sigh. 

The LYRICS.
Partially, that's an "in general" statement. I had already warned Regina that the music was beautiful, but all that stopped whenever they opened their mouths and words came out. That still holds true.

But its especially true for the title song which was particularly awful. Look. Any time the Phantom's character writes a song it must be fantastic. It must be the best. That's essential to his character, like his singing. And that worked great in the original - "Point of No Return" was a perfect addition. And then here you have.... "Love Never Dies." Musically speaking, it's not that bad (although I'm already cringing at it on the relisten since I know what's coming.) Lyrically speaking?

Bang my head into a wall. It would be less painful at this point.
I mean, this is what you have to listen to:
"Love won't let you go once you've been possessed.
Love never dies, love never falters,
Once it has spoken, love is yours.
Love never fails, love never alters,
Hearts may get broken, love endures.
Hearts may get broken, love endures."


LOVELOVELOVELOVE. LOVE. TRUELOVE. WE GET IT. LOVE.

The STORY. Not only does no one grow and no one really develops, it is essentially the exact same story & formula of Phantom. Phantom wants to hear Christine sing. Manipulates her into coming. Raoul doesn't like this. Phantom takes a character down to his lair for the "Phantom of the Opera" moment. Phantom's face is revealed to a character. Christine & Phantom have a "Music of the Night" scene. No one knows if Christine will sing! WILL SHE SING?! They even PREPARE THE ORCHESTRA. (You can practically hear it in your head: "Door 1 Secure? Secured. Door 2? Secured!" or in Love  "Is the orchestra ready? Ready? Are the lights ready? Ready!) Except this time - ha! - Raoul DOESN'T want her to sing. There's the twist. Christine sings. They have a chase sequence. The Phantom is emotionally ripped to shreds. The end.

Okay, so there's some fine line differences, but the formula is still pretty much the same.

And so is the story! What, we ultimately come down to "Will she sing?" again!? We even include the bulk of "Twisted Every Way" again?! The Phantom is still fighting with Raoul over who she'll go with? The Phantom is still wrapped up in how he looks? This whole thing feels so old! Didn't we do this already? Didn't we already learn these lessons??

And with the story goes the characters. Phantom is now pining after Christine....again. Except I guess the big twist to this story is that he's more human than mysterious figure which is....lame. Okay, it could be cool, but instead of continuing his character arc from the last show it feels like we've just started all over. Reboot. We didn't like the way the last one ended. We must start over.
Brad mentioned he would like to see Gustave not be the Phantom's kid (but still exist as Raoul's & Christine's) and have the Phantom step in as a Godfather/mentor role to Gustave in a way he never could be with Christine. Thus continuing his growth and paving the way for Christine & Raoul to forgive the Phantom. I thought that was interesting.

But I have never ever gotten behind the idea that the Phantom and Christine have a kid. Ever. Not in any iteration has it ever made sense in my brain and even less so in this one.
In the original London production of Love there is at least a lyric that says "Oh Christine, My Christine, in that time when the world thought me dead/ my Christine, on that night just before you were wed/ ah Christine you came and found where I hid....."

That particular lyric about when they came back together is removed from the Australian production. And I don't think I just missed it because Brad and Regina didn't catch it either, and I was waiting for it.

So. Without that lyric your only option for fitting this story together is to believe it happened during "Music of the Night." Which is ridiculous. Look, I've heard several people comment - years before the sequel - that that song symbolizes that they have had sex. But I've never been able to get behind that. For one, it should've been mentioned somewhere. For another, by the time the Phantom actually gets Christine in his hands he seems so bewildered with what to do with her. There's this control during "Music of the Night," but once she passes out from the mannequin its always played as such a tender scene where he picks her up and places her gently on the bed. And then goes back to composing.
Right? Did I forget something?

Not to mention, in the original Phantom "Final Lair" they have this exchange:
Christine: "Am I now to be prey to your lust for flesh?"
Phantom: "That fate which condemns me to wallow in blood has also denied me the joys of the flesh..."

Obviously nothing has happened yet. Otherwise that conversation is void. 

Relistening to the "Final Lair" now makes my head spin in context of the sequel. Phantom, how did you fall so far?

And Christine - who has just escaped with her life and the life of the one she loves - just....goes back to him? They have a kid?
Raoul becomes a drunkard and gambles away all their money?
I don't know what's going on anymore!

The Phantom and Christine have an entire ten minute segment - two songs long back to back - where they just relay exposition about the past? "Once Upon Another Time" should be cut. No questions. 
(There is way too much reliance on exposition in the entire show. Very little feels natural.)

Also, someone dies. And it feels like one of the longest death scenes in musical theatre history. Not only do they attempt to get up and move, but they have TWO reprises. TWO. I can actually remember listening to the cd and thinking "Sheesh, they haven't died yet?"
I've heard this production referred to as "Paint Never Dries" quite often, but during that last death scene all I could think of was "Schmaltz Never Dies." It popped unbidden to my head. It was not a deliberate "I have to come up with a mean parody!" slam. They just wouldn't DIE.

Oy. The whole ending is just out of nowhere. 

Is some of this plausible? Is it plausible at all? Sure, I guess. I guess I could see Mme. Giry & Meg smuggling the Phantom out of London and working for him. I guess I could see Meg trying to gain his affection....? I guess I could see Raoul becoming jealous of Christine's success and letting it go to his head and affect his choices....? I guess? If all that fell into place this story could happen? Even though it goes against almost all their character types?

Which brings me to this: 

The Final Say:
This is where my major problem with this production comes in:

This production should have never happened.

"Oh, Sherri, you just didn't want a sequel...."
That's true. But mostly, I just didn't want THIS sequel.

The end of the original Phantom leaves our characters forever changed we think. The Phantom - for the first time in his life - has had someone accept him despite his looks, despite what he's done to her and those she loves. Christine understands who he is, where he's coming from and still kisses him. And it obviously deeply affects him - despite his obsession he not only sends her away, but sends Raoul with her, provides the boat and then disappears himself. 
Christine - for the first time ever - has developed her own sense of character. For the very first time, no one tells her what to do here. In fact, Raoul is shocked and repulsed she did. Of her own volition though she makes the choice, one no on else here would make, and kisses him. But it's not out of romantic love. It's because she finally sees the "pitiful creature of darkness, what kind of life have you known? God give me courage to show you you are not alone...."
 The obvious changes in both characters are so beautiful! The Phantom has had someone finally get past his looks, past his deeds. Christine has moved past her sense of uncertainty, fear and naivete. He gives her up. And the kiss is one of the great acting moments in the show for the Phantom. I love to watch how each one plays it.

And then.....nothing changes. We go back to the same story. All of this has been null & void. The Phantom goes back to longing for Christine. He still is wrapped up in his physical appearance. He still wants to hear her sing. Christine is back to being a mousy character. Does what people tell her to. Somewhere in there we're supposed to believe she seeks him out and has his kid in total secrecy. Whatever.

This musical doesn't make sense. When you play it back to back with the original the absolute absurdity of the character arcs really blast through. You lose Christine's purity which makes her whole character fall apart. You lose the Phantoms.....well, entire character.

This musical should've never happened because your characters would have never taken this path to begin with. 

Webber made comments on early in Phantom's history that he never understood why the piece was so successful and that he thought it was a "hokum." Those comments have never rang out so loud as they do here where it is obvious he has no idea why the first one succeeded. 

Overall, it's about what I expected, but its still frustrating to hear the creative team discuss how proud they are of this piece and how great they feel to have it forever sealed on film. I'm not saying there's not potential here for a decent show - because there is if you gut it and reconsider it enough - but it's certainly not there yet.

Theatre News: Movie Musicals

WAIT. WAIT. WAIT.
This post was totally going to be about Les Miserables. And it will be eventually. I promise.

BUT I HAVE BIGGER NEWS.

For its 25th anniversary, Phantom of the Opera is going to be released fully staged on the big screen and DVD with Ramin Karmiloo as the Phantom.

Ramin is only underneath Anthony Warlow in my Phantom dreamworld. Sure, he equally shares that title with Earl Carpenter, but that's it.

I mean, just listen:




 That, my friends, is what the Angel of Music should sound like.

He is also currently playing the Phantom in Love Never Dies and yes, he's entirely too young. But if they're going to go for young anyway, pick this guy.

 Oh wait - a FULLY STAGED version?! With 200 cast & orchestra?!

Seriously, I have no words for this. I've waited for this for SO. LONG. In fact, after the movie was made, I just gave up that a staged version would ever be filmed. I figured that was it.

BWAHAHAHA! SO HAPPY!

But, wait! That's not all!

Have you heard? It's official, via Cameron Mackintosh: Les Miserables will be coming to the big screen December 2012.

Um...didn't you just say that was a rumor, all of two days ago?
Yes.

Look, I've been hearing about a Les Mis movie for over 10 years. And I know there was talk of making one after it became big in the 80's. So I had reached the point where I treated all movie talk of it as rumors. But it's official! So let's take a look.

Apparently its being produced by Working Title, directed by Tom Hooper (King's Speech) and the two leads are already cast: Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean and Russell Crowe as Javert. Of course, acting wise, that's pretty awesome casting. And it's already well established Jackman can sing.

So the big question is: can Russell Crowe sing this role?

Yes, I know he has a band.You can imagine since I first heard the casting I've pretty much just been going back and forth between finding clips of him singing and reminding myself of Javert's role.

Here's a clip:


Russell Crowe has a solid dusky, low voice. But I'm really concerned about that voice with songs like "Stars" and "Javert's Suicide." You can't talk-sing those songs. You just can't. It doesn't work. Will mentioned tonight that you have to have solid singers for this piece "because, really, nothing about this story ought to be glamorous. the only things that are beautiful are the music and the character journeys." And that's dead on.
However, it sounds like he has a good framework for singing, so there's a good chance they can keep developing that and work with him.

Anyway here's "Stars," for reference:


So lots of excitement tonight and things to keep an eye on! Now here's hoping I can sleep tonight.

The Theatre Round-Up

We haven't talked theatre in awhile and I did do some catching up tonight.

Apparently, Newsies is on its way to becoming a stage musical at the Paper Mill Playhouse, with Menken back at the musical helm and Harvey Fierstein with a new script. The newest additions/changes to the familiar story are the addition of a reporter love interest and "Santa Fe" now being at the top of the show. Take a look at the video and tell me what you think.
Also, you should note Andrew Keenan-Bolger's name in the lineup as Crutchie - you may remember his sister Celia Keenan-Bolger as Olive in the Broadway version of 25th Putnam County Spelling Bee.



Check this out: George Lee Andrews has played in Phantom of the Opera ever since it opened on Broadway in 1988 and will be performing his final show tomorrow night. This will be his 9,382nd performance. That's nine-thousand. He currently holds the Guinness World Record for the longest run in the same show (I would certainly hope so!) He played Firmin for years, but to give some fresh life to his performance, they switched him over to Andre in 2000. I've never seen Phantom on Broadway, but now I wished at some point I had to possibly catch his performance. Sure, I wouldn't have known it at the time, but I would've loved to have gone back to that playbill now to see.
I'm so sad I had never heard of this guy until now! Bravo to an insanely long run, Mr. Andrews!

Eh. This is totally rumor mill, but here you go anyway. Supposedly, they're back to making a movie musical rendition of Les Miserables. This is nothing new. This has been on again, off again for years. According to the article, its being currently developed by Working Title & Universal and will be directed by Tom Hooper of Kings Speech. And, of course, the rumors are the stars involved and the most recent one is Anne Hathaway as Fantine.
While we're discussing rumors, here's other names being bandied about:
"According to www.itsonthegrid.com, additional actors being courted for the film have included Russell Crowe for Javert, Geoffrey Rush for Thenardier, Helena Bonaham Carter for Madame Thenardier, Hayden Panettiere, Miranda Cosgrove, Lucy Hale and Emma Watson for the roles of Eponine and Cosette, and Amy Adams and Rebecca Hall for Fantine."

While in the midst of looking up some of those names, I learned Rebecca Hall is actually the daughter of director Peter Hall! Interesting. And though not in that particular listing, Hugh Jackman is supposed to be set for Javert and one of the ones pushing the project.
After Phantom, I'm not really crazy about this. The idea of a star-studded cast trying to sing its way through this score doesn't really thrill me. Blah blah blah, they only have to get it right once, blah blah blah.
Buuut who knows, maybe they will be able to sing this time. Sacha Baron Cohen rocked Sweeney. Ewan McGregor caught everyone totally off guard. I'm totally willing to go with it if they can find singers. And who knows if it will ever actually be made anyway.

Frank Wildhorn's new show will be arriving soon on Broadway: Bonnie & Clyde will be in previews November 4th with opening set for December 1st. Lyrics by Don Black of Andrew Lloyd Webber fame: Sunset Boulevard, Aspects of Love and Tell me On a Sunday. (Also, apparently his first big hit was writing the lyrics for Bond's Thunderball theme. Thank you, Wikipedia!)

And I kept trying to find one more piece of news, but nothing else has really caught my attention. Anything interest anyone else?

Update on Cirque: Zarkana

I actually wrote this post weeks ago when Zarkana was first getting notice, but unfortunately it got shoved in my draft drawer and has lived there since. Anyway, for what its worth....

Cirque, to me, is often art for arts sake. Bizarre for the sake of being bizarre. Beauty for the sake of creating something beautiful. I love that about their work. I think that's partially why I was disappointed in KA even though it was one of their greatest technical works at that time (and potentially, still is.) In KA they built it around a fully realized story. Which was fine. But it lost some of its wonder to me. Mystere, which is by far my favorite, has no real story and is one of their oldest productions. It is thinly tied together by recurring images. And I was in awe the whole time.

(Of course, the beautiful artwork on the ceiling of that particular theatre helped.)

If you ever go to Vegas, see Mystere.

Now, Zarkana!

"Zarkana, according to Cirque notes, “is a fantastically bizarre world where we follow the adventures of Zark, a magician who has lost his love and, with her, his powers. As he cries and begs for her return he is plunged into a world inhabited by surreal creatures. The diverse cast of 71 international artists transports the audience into a fantastical and suspenseful world, blurring the boundaries between the real and imaginary.”

It looks like this is a return to loose stories. Yes, there is a tie between images, but the focus is not in fleshing out the story but in the creations that come from it. I wouldn't like that in all mediums, but for Cirque it works. At least for me.
It also looks like this show includes sand painting, which I would love to see how they handle. The shadow puppetry in KA is one of my favorite moments in theatre and was incredibly beautiful.

(If you have not seen this video of sand painting from Britain's Got Talent you really have to stop and watch it. It just blows my mind every time.)


Distracted. Back to Cirque.

All that to say: their latest video really excites me. I'm a huge Cirque fan. And even though its at Radio City Music Hall and will probably never tour (since it was built specifically for that space), I still want to make sure you at least see the clip.

Video of Zarkana! Cirque's newest addition to their already amazing lineup:

Ragtime Review: I never heard no music quite like yours...

Tonight I finally had the opportunity to see Ragtime at the Lyric Theatre.

First Impression: It was deeply satisfying to hear some of my favorite melodies being played out on stage.

General Review:
There are so many pretty moments in this show. From tiny little instrumental details to beautiful backdrops. I would love to see it again, especially later in their run. They seemed to be having sound issues tonight that should work themselves out as the show progresses.

The show has an interesting set up - its narrated throughout by the characters themselves, so there is a lot of breaking the fourth wall going on. But I personally never felt like it detracted from the show - there's so many minor characters and instances where it really helps serve to move along the story.

The one thing I really was unsatisfied with was in the character of Sarah, who is the female counterpart to Coalhouse Walker. Coalhouse is incredibly strong willed and therefore Sarah has to be as well - otherwise there's nothing to push against and the relationship falters and feels onesided. Which means that when she runs to the President it feels like you're watching some ditzy dame screaming mindlessly at the President - not that its a desperate woman with the guts to try to reach him since he's her last chance.
And in this production - for some bizarre reason that I can't quite figure out - Sarah was weepy. And whimpy. In fact, she was sobbing a bit too theatrically during "Your Daddy's Son" which, is an incredibly sad and moving song...but not weepy. You could liken it to "Pity the Child" from Chess - sad song, but with such a strength of anger and hurt and fierceness that you don't cry through it. Then you lose the power behind it. Silly.

The music itself, though, is lovely as ever. I soaked it all in, hearing some of my favorite theatrical songs sung live and finally able to put some of the mysterious voices into context. Listening to "Sarah Brown Eyes" sung by two strong voices was wonderful and I have to admit - it's just one of my favorite songs from musical theatre. That's all there is to it.

"Now she is haunting me, just like a melody, the only song I seem to know is Sarah Brown Eyes...."

(Okay, so that's technically from "His Name is Coalhouse Walker" but its the same melody and I love that line.)

And "Back to Before" was just outstanding. I don't remember who was playing Mother, but wow she really sold that song. It was so well done. And the lead up to it was handled beautifully as well. That was a great scene.

The tough part about this show (at least, in terms of watching it) is obvious - its central themes deal heavily with race in the early 1900's and that can be really rough to watch and to listen to. So should you ever see this show be aware of that going in. While there is some cursing, its mostly some of language used at the time that will make you wince.

Speaking of the time period, I'm really curious about it. I assume most of what occured really fell in that time slot, I just simply haven't done the research on it to confirm it. Did I mention I would love to dramaturg this show? It would be insane and overwhelming, but I suspect oh so rewarding at the same time.

Final Thoughts:
Should you go see this show, I recommend you borrowing the cast recording first. You'll be able to follow it without knowing what's going on, but you'll have a much clearer understanding. There is a ton of ensemble music in the show and like tonight if you have a rough sound system then it's going to be even harder to understand some of the lyrics. Also, there's about four storylines going on throughout and you'll have a much better sense of what's going on. Ragtime won't be for everyone (another reason to check out the cast recording first) but if you're looking for more a classically styled musical with some beautiful melodies and harmonies and lots of opportunities for character building then definitely give it a look. Now that I can finally say I've seen it in production, it remains one of my favorites.

You tell stories like your hands play tunes.

I'm a little (re)obsessed with Ragtime.

It's not that it ever went away, mind you. It just kind of faded into the background for awhile with the rest of my musicals.

However, with Lyric's upcoming production of Ragtime so near, I decided to reacquaint myself. And admittedly, I've just fallen in love with all over again. Swoon.

First off, a confession: I have not actually seen this musical. So I always have to preface my "favorite" tag with that notation. It is my favorite - I know the book, all the beautiful music and pictures, but with having yet seen it I still don't know well how it works in production. Sad, isn't it?

But Ragtime is a very large show. Traditionally, the set is massive, the cast is massive and the orchestra needs to be massive. It can potentially be very hard for expense reasons alone. So it doesn't necessarily get a lot of opportunities, at least not here. I can't express to you how excited I am that Lyric is taking this on, especially when the few shows I've seen in these recent seasons have been knocked out of the park. Actually, they were supposed to attempt it last year (it was on Civic's calendar, but never officially announced) and then it was removed without warning. Lame.

And that's just expense. Honestly, the talent needed to really pull of this show is intense as well. I often liken Coalhouse to the Phantom, in the sense that in order for the audience to fall in love with him he has to have a larger than life personality, gorgeous voice and tons of charisma. Brian Stokes Mitchell plays Coalhouse on the OCR and while I'm not a fan of him in everything, he's absolutely perfect for this role. And Sarah? Audra McDonald. Who is pure brilliance.

Here, just listen:


This song is so simplistic on the surface, yet it just gives me chills. They're voices are so lovely, there's so much character there. (I had actually never noticed Coalhouse's vocal fall at 1:40 until tonight and it's just beautiful.)

Okay, so part of the reason I'm so smitten is because of the Original Cast Recording. Its true.

But listen to those beautiful orchestrations. The touch of ragtime. If you were to ask me for my favorite working composer today I would be hard-pressed to choose between Adam Guettel and Ahrens & Flaherty (lyrics & composition alike, but they almost always work together.) Both sets tailor their music to the world they're creating so well that I believe they're unsurpassed in today's theatre. (You will know Guettel for Floyd Collins & Light in the Piazza, whereas you will known Ahrens & Flaherty for Once on this Island, Seussical and of course Ragtime. Flaherty also did the music for the animated film Anastasia.) I wish I could find a solid recording online of "Henry Ford" because it really showcases Ragtime's sound use of gears and steam.

And I have hope that Coalhouse will be well-handled. I recently discovered that actor was coming off of Broadway's Scottsboro Boys which I saw performed on this years Tony's and there is not a bad voice in the lot.



I keep considering buying the cast album to that show. (I'm not as crazy about the minstrel opening, but I love the train song.) The voices alone may be worth it.

And while I'm here, could you imagine trying to dramaturg this thing? It would be a monster. Yet, I still think it would be fun to try. (Ha, maybe one day I should build up a dramaturg's book just for the sake of curiosity.)

Honestly, this is the most excited I've been about getting to see theatre in awhile. This show has always been top on my list from the first time I heard it. Which happened to be in Sarkey's at 3 AM with Susan while trying to finish our final lighting design project.

(For those curious, the top of the must-see list now belongs to In the Heights with Caroline, or Change following close behind.)

(EDIT: Oo! And Floyd Collins! Can I add another one? Floyd Collins sharing the second spot with Caroline.)

Considering it's not for another two weeks or so yet, there's a small wait. I apologize in advance. I'll try to keep my blathering to a minimum.

The 65th Annual Tony Awards

I thought this year I would blog as the Tony's went along. Therefore, this is more of a collection of sporadic thoughts as it moves along...

Overall Impression:
I wasn't excited to watch tonight. I didn't know any of the shows going in and I really thought it would be a lot like last years, which really disappointed me. But the nominated numbers -especially the first hour- was so full of energy and looked great!

Opening Number
Um. I'm trying to figure out what they were going for with this...

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying - "Brotherhood of Man"
Of course, you know they're going to perform this song.
I really loved the choreography for this show! So fun. Lots of energy. Great ensemble.

Commercial
What, you're really offering The Book of Mormon for only $1.99 on amazon.com for the next 24 hours? Way to go show! I may not actually take you up on that, but I wish more shows would provide opportunities like that.

Catch Me if You Can
Wowza! Energy, energy, energy! This is what I'm talking about, Broadway! New shows with old Broadway pizzazz.
I had no interest in this show before. But to see *looking up names* .... waaaait, wait, wait...that agent was Norbert Leo Butz?! That was a total knockout performance. If he doesn't win, I'm gonna be so disappointed.
I LOVE, LOVE shows that use every note of their music in the choreography and they really nailed it. Nice.

Check this out:


Surprises
Wow. I'm really excited to see War Horse take Best Direction of a Play. That was unexpected to me, but from all the clips I've seen from that show it looks incredibly well handled. I was totally expecting that to go to Normal Heart.

The Scottsboro Boys
Oh man! There are some REALLY great voices this year on Broadway! I'm really excited by what I've seen so far for this year! (And I'm kind of shocked by that.) Seriously, I can't believe this is closed. I would be really interested in hearing more from this show. That song was really nice and really nicely sung.
Hey, while I'm here, anyone know what's with Santa Fe? I mean, RENT has "Santa Fe" and the whole theme for a character in Newsies is getting to Santa Fe and now this show is referencing the idea of getting to Santa Fe.... I've never really known why that was considered a dream place for these characters.

Wait, Victoria Clark is in Sister Act? Where have I been this season?

The Book of Mormon
I've had my curiosity piqued by this show. Its composed of a team from South Park and Avenue Q which should tell you a lot up front. Again - I'm not really sure what I make of it.

Neil Patrick Harris/ Hugh Jackman Duo
I wasn't really crazy about this, honestly. They sound great together, and play off each other well, but I feel like this sort of montage has become really expected on the Tonys.

Hey, it's Bono!
"When I saw the Tony Awards on our schedule, we assume we had been, y'know, nominated."
"Seems we missed the deadline."
"Cute."
"In rock and roll, you see, deadlines are just your manager trying to get you back on the bus."
Aw, that was a really nice segment, you guys. Good job Bono & The Edge. That was really well handled.

Spiderman: Turn off the Dark
First off, I love the look of the pop-up set. And musically speaking, this song was really pretty. But lyrically, I'm a little confused. "If the world should end tomorrow, there's no need for a savior or a friend"?
As in...if the world ends tomorrow, I guess there isn't a need for friends...if we're all dead?
If the world ends tomorrow - but we haven't died yet - wouldn't you want friends more than ever?
I guess it comes down to how you define the world ending. Maybe I'm just as confusing as the lyrics.
The lyrics just remind of the title all over again. It just sounds...turned around. And confused.

Jim Parsons is in The Normal Heart?
Don't believe it, Jim Parsons. The League announces every year is the highest grossing season on Broadway.

Getting to see the facades of these theatres makes me miss New York.

Robin Williams has a beard. I mean...an intense beard.

Sister Act
Hm... I wasn't really impressed by this. The voices were great, but the song itself felt way too standard.

THE PUPPET FROM WAR HORSE. Oh my goodness, it's really beautiful. I'm torn on whether I would see that show. Honestly, I would love to see the show - but uh. After reading Will's review of the book, I don't think I could handle watching it! Such a heartbreaker.

I think it's really awesome that Memphis performed for low-income schools. I think it's even more awesome that the students learned the choreography ahead of time for the finale and surprised the performers by jumping up in their seats at the end and performing it with them. That's what theatre is all about.
But as for the song itself, I'm just still not impressed.

It's only 9:00. Why are presenting Best Play now? There's still an hour to go. I think they did this last year too. Lame, Tonys. Still lame.
While I like getting more (and longer) musical moments, plays are still just left out in the cold and that's sad. Why does Memphis get to perform again?

Anything Goes
One of the reasons I love to watch Sutton Foster is because she always looks like she's having a blast in whatever she's in. Nice to see tap represented.

So apparently the plays get a two minute segment with a few lines spoken from each one in a montage. Sigh.

Company
I'm still not crazy about Neil Patrick Harris as Bobby... But I guess I'll see. (I really wish I could have seen Raul Esparza in the role a few years ago.) I'm most excited because I really don't know too much about this show and I'll get a full experience this week.

The Tribute - In Memoriam
Arthur Laurents... Tom Bosley... Shannon Tavarez... Elizabeth Taylor... Jerry Bock... Joseph Stein...

Okay, Sutton Fosters winning speech was really cute.
....
What is THIS?! Why are they singing It's Raining Men!? Why is Paul Schafer here? What are these costumes?! WHAT IS THIS?! GO AWAY! STOP! STOP! WHY IS CHRIS ROCK GOING TO PRESENT BEST MUSICAL?! No, Tonys, YOU WERE DOING SO WELL!
Priscilla Queen of the Desert is apparently what just happened to the Tonys. Sigh. Maybe if there were more context. Instead of...just appearing...

And Best Leading Actor in a Musical is....NORBERT! YAAAAAY!

Again. Why Chris Rock? Whyyyy?
That was terrible.
Oh, Tonys. You did so well for the most part...until the last fifteen minutes.

Anyway.
On a positive note, I'm so excited to see some of the shows that appeared this year. This is really encouraging! Win me back, Broadway! Win me back!

Oh, when it's your wedding day.

I've spent all day up to my elbows in wedding work and I'm so excited to show you soon how one of them is turning out. For one, its flowers we don't normally get to play with (which is fun) but also the color combo is just knockout. I'm not lead designer on that one (thank goodness) but I'm getting a ton of experience out of mimicking my bosses designs. She's a pretty incredible designer, so I'm really enjoying this opportunity to stretch my floral muscles a bit. This wedding provides challenges for both of us, which becomes amusing long after the shop is closed and we've been staring at our respective pieces for hours to get them just right.

Also, for an entirely different wedding, I had the opportunity this morning to make the bridal bouquet and I'm pleased with how it came out. I don't have much experience with handhelds simply because we don't do them as often. And considering I had spent the two hours before fighting with the smaller bridesmaids, I was surprised at how pleased the main piece turned out.

For those interested, work is apparently still being done on Carrie: an "exploratory workshop" is in motion, to lead to an Off-Broadway revival. Whoohoo!

Also, the Tonys are to be announced May 3rd. I would probably be more excited about this, but sadly I don't think I know of a single show that would be up for anything this year.

Hold it. Wait. I got it.

I really had a beautiful weekend.

It all started with Kaden's birthday party yesterday! You can see his sweet face squished between his sisters here:

This is not from yesterday, but I haven't taken pictures from my own camera in forever. Plus, this pic shows all of those three off. I adore these faces.

Happy birthday, sweetheart!

Then that evening was spent at the newly opened Pink Swirls (delicious) with the Plumbs & Pucketts. Considering there were ten of us, we left early for good seats to the children's show Androcles & the Lion.


Be sure to catch little Anna's eyes, sitting on the empress' lap. She seems very curious of that Lion so near!

The children's show was lots of fun. I think it only ran this past weekend, but if you have a chance to catch it as it runs during the day this week, you really should.

So between...
Watching Kaden's excitement over Star Wars Legos.
And defending my glass of water from Khloe's ever moving hands.
And getting to spend some time with Kylie.
And kissing on Lexie.
And getting to watch Amy, Ashia & Ashlyn sit on the stage during the performance.
And Anna giggling in her seat.
And having Carson sit on my lap at the show.
And getting to teach Jace about which stage lights would go out.

It was a pretty perfect Saturday. :) I hope everyone else had as much fun.

Before I go to bed....
These are some amazing pictures from the Discovery Channel. Also, there's some fantastic audio commentary included. If you have a few minutes, definitely check it out. The pictures are absolutely beautiful. (Thanks Chera & Kelly!)

The Broadway Bears have been released! For those who don't know every year these bears are released for auction, dressed as characters from shows, to raise money for Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS. I love seeing their creativity (the Lion King one is particularly well done this year).

I still remember Mole.

Yes! Hero Squad is officially published! This is wonderful news!

Hero Squad, of course, is a children's play written by my near and dear brother and I'm super excited for him. This is such a great script, full of beautiful characters and I'm so glad to see it out there for theaters (and kids!)

Congrats William!! I'm so happy for you!

You know what, bro? Sometimes you're just really cool. :)

Turn off the what?

Beware. Spoilers abound in all articles about Turn Off the Dark. Flee now if you're avoiding them. Or just don't click on the articles. Heh.

Sorry. I know its old now, but sometimes I still get this urge to make fun of the name.

So what's been going with Broadway's most expensive musical ever?

In case anyone's interested, here is MTV's (unofficial) review of Spiderman: Turn off the Dark

Part 1: Things they enjoyed....

...aaaand Part 2: things they didn't.

There's lots of interesting tidbits in there if you're interested.

Also, it's considered "unofficial" only because its still in previews and technically critics aren't supposed to give official thoughts yet (although now that its in its third delay they're starting to get antsy).

Hm, most interesting piece from that last article:
Although producers are charging full price for tickets, the musical is still selling out the 1,930-seat Foxwoods Theatre in Times Square almost every night.

I'm impressed they're still selling out, but full price for preview tickets? That's what you should read in that. Preview means the show is not even guaranteed to finish (especially with all the technical issues like this one). So I went and played on their website. It looks like cheap seats are $75 while premium orchestra seats are $275. Without fees.

So, average price is $145. For a show in previews.

So how expensive is the most expensive Broadway show ever? Reportedly $65 million. Also in the article above it mentions the previous holder of that title, Shrek the Musical which came in at $25 million.

More viewer reviews if you're interested.

Back from the grave. (Angel, do not shun me!)

(I'm posting twice tonight! Please don't miss Tate's homecoming post underneath!)

...
I knoooooow. I knoooow it's been much longer than "a few days." But we're here now, right? Riiight? Okay, okay, here we go! Let's finish this up.

Note: This are all specifically from shows I've viewed, not counting shows I've participated in.

Top 5 Theatrical Moments

5) Snocones at HONK (Outdoor Rose Garden Theatre in Oregon, 2003)
This is right up there with eating ice cream in the theatres of London. The novelty, the fun, how laid back the whole experience was compared to sometimes the stiffness of watching a show. Sitting outside with my cousins in Oregon on a beautiful summer day watching a local production of Honk! and eating snocones.



4) Snow at KA (Vegas, 2009)
I love Cirque. Everyone loves Cirque. They're amazing. And while KA isn't actually my favorite (currently that falls to Mystere) it was at the time their most technically advanced show and incredible to watch. (Seriously, total knock down drag out did-they-really-just-make-the-whole-stage-go-vertical?! show.) Also, it's the only Cirque show where I've sat so closely (5th row?).
So while sitting that close cut out a lot of the big-picture stuff which is so beautiful in Cirque, this was the first time I got to experience the benefits of sitting up close. Such as theatrical snow. And as the performers flew right over my head and the snow fell thick and cold on my own body as they fought through a snowstorm, I now see why sitting up front has its advantages. The overall effect was worth it.



3) Christmas Eve Sarajevo by TSO (OKC, 2007)
Travis & I were at my first Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert. I had loved the song Christmas Eve Sarajevo 24/7 since middle school. It's still my favorite version of my favorite Christmas song (Carol of the Bells). I was already way excited to see TSO in concert and very curious as to how they would handle this song, which was easily their biggest hit. I figured they would just rock it out and let everyone go crazy.
But if you've ever seen TSO's Christmas show you know their first "act" is a poem set to the music. And the poem is really long, and eventually you start waiting for it to finish, but in the middle the angel is sweeping over the earth looking for a gift to bring to his Lord. And the angel's eyes fall onto "the fires of Sarajevo as a lone cello starts to play" (which, of course, is how the song starts)

"And when he flew over Sarajevo there were scars upon the land,
their were scars upon the people and it was hard to understand.
And the deepest scars of all (which to humans are unseen
but the angel saw clearly) are the scars upon the dreams of
Belfast, Rwanada, Palestine, Sudan.
The only decorations here had been a war from their crimes.
And in the gardens where the children played, now the soldiers trod.
And stranger still he heard some say that they were killing for their God.
Now the angel had heard God speak many times and had always paid attention,
but this killing of one's neighbor was something the Lord had never mentioned.
But as he neared the earth of a recent battleground
from among the ruins he heard the sound of a simple cello
playing a forgotten Christmas song.
And even on that battlefield the song somehow belonged.
And as he flew the angel did take note that whenever he found this music playing
one always could find hope."

And then the opening cello starts up. Giving the song that much meaning on top of its passionate sound really made the whole thing stand out. I had chills.

(And in part two they end the show by completely rocking out to it. You got the best of both worlds.)

2) Rafiki's Intro in LK (London, 2006)
It was my first opportunity to see Lion King and I was very excited after hearing so much about it for years. I had just returned from Swaziland the summer before and I was still on cloud nine from the trip. So imagine my surprise when Rafiki came out and suddenly broke the fourth wall with "Sanibonani!" And as she continued to chatter away in Afrikaan (or whatever language she was in) I sat there in shock as I had just understood the word. Just one word! But instead of feeling hit with a language barrier I felt like a piece of the show, a part of something special. I felt assured they had really worked hard to incorporate the African influence.

1) "Wandering Child" Trio (London, 2006)

Holly & I were off to see Phantom of the Opera in its original home of Her Majesty's Theatre in London. Upon entering the lobby we saw Earl Carpenter's name up for the Phantom that night, someone I had heard such lovely things about but never even considered I would have an opportunity to see. Oh, and we had perfect seats. The theatre is built to accommodate all aspects of the house, which is really nice.
There's a part of me that really hopes they never update this particular production, at least until after it finally closes. I feel like it needs to be seen in this original incarnation, even if that includes now cheesy 80's lightning effects in the opening and other outdated technical elements. The original lyrics were still in place (some minor changes have been made in all US productions since then, and probably worldwide as well).
The saddest change for me, however, was to "Wandering Child" which is a beautiful song, but minor compared to all the other big numbers. On the Original London Cast recording you can hear it in its trio form with the Phantom, Christine & Raoul, but all US productions (and again, probably all the others) have since changed it to mostly a duet between the Phantom and Christine. But the trio is really gorgeous and I've never understood why they would lessen it.
I had seen Phantom before in the US and was always disappointed at this point. And I was preparing myself to be disappointed again. And then suddenly Raoul ran out early and I thought Could it be? Seriously? Don't tease me... And there they were, my (now) favorite Phantom, Christine and Raoul singing my favorite piece of music in the score, live onstage. Beautiful. I loved every minute of it.

The trio in its original form:
Once again she is his....once again she returns.