NEWSFLASH: COMPANY in Concert with Neil Patrick Harris

Posted on December 10, 2010 by David Fick

Next year the New York Philharmonic will stage concerts of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Company with Neil Patrick Harris as Bobby. Lonny Price is directing. No other casting has been announced yet. To go with the announcement, there’s an article about Harris’s casting on the Time Out blog. An extract:

Adam Feldman wrote:
The relevant question raised by this casting is not — pace the absurd uproar earlier this year about Sean Hayes in Promises, Promises — whether an openly gay actor like Harris can play a womanizing character like Bobby…. Rather, the question is whether Bobby can be effectively embodied by an actor who isn’t gay….

To be clear, it’s not a question for me of Bobby, the character, being secretly queer — if his commitment problems with women could be so easily explained, the show would crumble — but rather of the entire show being, in some sense, a product of the closet.

The explication of these points is pretty interesting to read. Thoughts?

Posted in George Furth, Stephen Sondheim | Tagged , , , , , | 15 Comments

Musical Theatre Advent Calendar: A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM

Posted on December 9, 2010 by David Fick

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum really has nothing to do with Christmas. Well, I suppose certain aspects of Christmas could be described as jolly and this is a very jolly musical. There we go. Tenuous link forged. I chose A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum today because this is the time of the month when people are waiting for their Christmas holidays to begin and need a bit of a diversion – and this show offers plenty of diversion: a highly entertaining score by Stephen Sondheim, a chorus of beautiful women and some great laughs – all inspired by the classical Roman comedies of Plautus. Sadly, the film version is mediocre, which is a great pity. But if you have not given the cast album of this show a spin recently, do it now! And if you do not own a cast album of this show – then get one now so that you can give it a spin. A great silly smile will wriggle its way onto your face and you will have a better day.

Got a special A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum memory? Head on down to the comment box.

Purchases and Downloads from Amazon.com

FOUR GREAT NEW MUSICALS THAT ARE CLOSING SOON – FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: 1. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Original Broadway Cast Recording CD. 2. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Soundtrack Recording MP3 Album. 3. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in Jazz CD. 4. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum 1996 Broadway Cast Recording CD.

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Musical Theatre Advent Calendar: MARTIN GUERRE

Posted on December 8, 2010 by David Fick

Is Martin Guerre a candidate for the show with the most revisions without ever yet fulfilling its potential? Perhaps not, but there was a time during the late 1990s where there always seemed to be a new version of the show trotted out by Cameron Mackintosh. With a score by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg (with contributions by Stephen Clark), the show tried its best to deliver what was expected of a Boublil-Schönberg collaboration: an epic production accompanied by an epic score. What just about everyone involved seems to have missed is that the story of Martin Guerre is not an epic story in the way that Les Misérables is or one that has its roots in an operatic tradition like Miss Saigon. What it is, is a rather personal tale about identity and relationships and the show does not ever get the balance right between that personal story and the epic backdrop thrust upon it to allow Martin Guerre to achieve the same sense of theatrical grandeur offered by the previous Boublil-Schönberg shows. In other words, Mr Mackintosh, next time you want to revive the show, get the team to focus on the content, not the form. Perhaps that will be the key to unlocking the success of Martin Guerre. In the meantime, for this Christmas, I’ve posted a song that appears in the original version, but not in the revised production: a carol of sorts, “Bethlehem”. Enjoy it and ponder what Martin Guerre might have been.

Got a special Martin Guerre memory? Head on down to the comment box.

Purchases from Amazon.com

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: 1. Martin Guerre Original Version Cast Recording CD. 2. Martin Guerre Revised Version Cast Recording CD. 3. Hey Mr Producer CD with extracts from Martin Guerre. 4. Forbidden Broadway Cast Recording CD with parody of Martin Guerre.

Posted in Broadway, Fun Stuff, Musicals, West End | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Musical Theatre Advent Calendar: A CHORUS LINE

Posted on December 7, 2010 by David Fick

Michael Bennett’s work on the musical A Chorus Line might just be one of the greatest pieces of musical theatre staging ever. Take the number in the clip, for example: “At the Ballet”. It seems pretty simple, doesn’t it? Just three monologues linked by theme. In the film, that’s how it is presented, with a few fancy angles thrown in for good measure. That’s how it seems, at first, in this clip. But towards the end of the number, when Maggie’s climactic phrase rings out to the rafters, the upstage area comes to life and it is pure magic. That was Bennett’s specialty: pure magic. Let’s not even get into the brilliance of the “Montage”. We would be here all day. So: if a tour using the original staging is anywhere near you, ever, see it. See it more than once. And if it leaves you cold… well, then, I;m really not sure what’s to be done with you…

Got a special A Chorus Line memory? Head on down to the comment box.

Downloads from Amazon.com

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: 1. A Chorus Line Original Cast Recording MP3 Album. 2. A Chorus Line Broadway Revival Cast Recording MP3 Album. 3. Every Little Step Video on Demand. 4. A Chorus Line Video on Demand.

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Musical Theatre Advent Calendar: THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS

Posted on December 6, 2010 by David Fick

Today’s musical is something of a Christmas event. It is playing on Broadway now and it will be gone in January. Nope, it’s not Elf. It is The Scottsboro Boys, the new John Kander and Fred Ebb musical, that transferred to Broadway after a successful Off-Broadway run last year. While I despair at the closing of The Scottsboro Boys, I am of the opinion that the Weisslers should have planned to have a legitimate limited run, which would have made the difference in the perception as a success or something that fizzled out before its time. It is sad when creative work such as this cannot find a home on mainstream musical theatre stages of the world. This is precisely the problem created by what Michael John LaChiusa termed the “faux musical” in his article “The Great Grey Way” five years ago. So if you happen to be in New York this December, take yourself on an outing to see The Scottsboro Boys. Make it a Christmas present to yourself, to your partner, to your friend. Wicked may have shinier wrapping paper, but it will probably still be running the next time you get to New York and – well – what is inside the box is more important than that in which it is wrapped.

Got a special The Scottsboro Boys memory? Head on down to the comment box.

Downloads from Amazon.com

FOUR GREAT NEW MUSICALS THAT ARE CLOSING SOON – FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: 1. The Scottsboro Boys Original Cast Recording MP3 Album. 2. Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson Original Cast Recording MP3 Album. 3. Fela! Original Cast Recording MP3 Album. 4. In the Heights Original Cast Recording MP3 Album.

Posted in Broadway, Fun Stuff, Musicals, Off Broadway, Theory and Practice | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

NEWSFLASH: London goes LEGALLY BLONDE

Posted on December 5, 2010 by David Fick
LEGALLY BLONDE

To purchase the Original Broadway Cast Recording of LEGALLY BLONDE, click on the image above.

Legally Blonde, the hit musical comedy based on the film starring Reese Witherspoon, starts previews in London tonight for what is said to be a limited run through March after an official opening in January. I doubt that will be the be-all and end all for the West End run of the show, which features musical and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin and a book by Heather Hach.

Director-choreographer Jerry Mitchell recreates his effective Broadway staging of the show for this new production, which stars Sheridan Smith as Elle Woods, with Duncan James as Warner and Alex Gaumond as Emmett. Other lead roles are taken by Susan McFadden, Aoife Mulholland, Peter Davison and Jill Halfpenny.

Legally Blonde is a great contemporary musical comedy, with a smart book and a memorable score. I’m glad to see it going places. The official site for the show is here.

Posted in Heather Hach, Laurence O' Keefe, Nell Benjamin | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Musical Theatre Advent Calendar: HERE’S LOVE

Posted on December 5, 2010 by David Fick

After yesterday’s trip into emo-land, I thought perhaps it was time for something a little more jolly. Today’s musical is Meredith Wilson’s Here’s Love (based on the evergreen Christmas film Miracle on 34th Street) and the song featured in the video above is “It’s Beginning to Look A Lot like Christmas / Pine Cones and Holly Berries”. The show, which has recently been rechristened as It’s Beginning to Look A Lot like Christmas (!), was Wilson’s third musical, following the smash hit The Music Man and The Unsinkable Molly Brown. I was first introduced to this song by hearing it on The Marie Osmond Christmas Special, where it was sung by Sally Struthers and her daughter and the next generation of Osmond boys. I’ve loved it ever since! It’s such a jolly little tune and I’m a sucker for counterpoint!

Got a special Here’s Love memory? Head on down to the comment box.

Downloads from Amazon.com

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: 1. Here’s Love Original Broadway Cast MP3 Album. 2. “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas / Pine Cones and Holly Berries” OBCR Version MP3. 3. “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” Bing Crosby Version MP3. 4. “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” Harry Connick Jr Version MP3.

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Musical Theatre Advent Calendar: SPRING AWAKENING

Posted on December 4, 2010 by David Fick

Sometimes Christmas can make you feel a little (emo)tional. And since I’m feeling all emo today, it is time to put Spring Awakening on this year’s musical theatre advent calendar. All right, there are lots of musicals that provide a super experience for an emo audience, so you might wonder what made me connect this musical in particular with Christmas time, particularly if you only know “The Song of Purple Summer” from the cast recording. Since the time that recording was issued, the song has been revised. Compare these lyrics, heard in the clip above, with those used on the show’s album:

Listen to what’s in the heart of a child:
A song so big and one so small.
Soon you will hear where beauty lies;
You’ll hear and you’ll recall.
The sadness, the doubt, all the loss, the grief
Will belong to some play from the past,
As the child leads the way to a dream of belief
A time of hope through the land…

Isn’t that a huge part of what Christmas is about? I think so.

Got a special Spring Awakening memory? Head on down to the comment box.

Downloads and Purchases from Amazon.com

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: 1. Spring Awakening Original Broadway Cast MP3 Album. 2. “The Song of Purple Summer” OBCR Version MP3. 3. Spring Awakening Karaoke Album CD. 4. “The Song of Purple Summer” German Language Version MP3.

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Musical Theatre Advent Calendar: GYPSY

Posted on December 3, 2010 by David Fick

“Strippers at Christmas time?” I hear you protest. Well, when one of the strippers has a light up costume, then yes! Besides, Gypsy one of the greatest musicals every listen and it deserves place of pride on just about any list. (Except a list of the worst musicals, natch.) Of course, Gypsy has a bigger link to Christmas than one might imagine. In the original 1959 production, the climax of Gypsy Rose Lee’s strip was ‘a special salute to Christmas’, described in The Sondheim Review by John Ellis as follows: ‘The curtain opens on a tableau a hung-over Ziegfeld might have dreamed up after an eggnog binge: the Gypsy stripper Christmas tree, 15 showgirls decked out in tinsel G-strings, faux burning-candle and bell hats, ornaments for boobs and a swag boa gracefully arcing from one crotch to the next, lush, hilarious — and unforgettable if you saw it.’ In the lamentably awful 1962 film version, we saw Gypsy Rose Lee in a special salute to the New Year, while later versions have showcased her in a tribute to the Garden of Eden. But for a while it was a Christmas tree – oh Christmas tree! – from base to summit, gay and bright with only splendor for the sight.

Got a special Gypsy memory? Head on down to the comment box.

Downloads from Amazon.com

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: 1. Gypsy Original Broadway Cast MP3 Album. 2. “Let Me Entertain You” OBCR Version MP3.. 3. Glee: The Music – The Christmas Album MP3 Album. 4. “Oh, Christmas Tree” Glee Version MP3..

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Musical Theatre Advent Calendar: THE SOUND OF MUSIC

Posted on December 2, 2010 by David Fick

I don’t know whether I could get through the lead-up to Christmas without mentioning The Sound of Music. It’s a classic family musical – with a film version that almost immeasurably improves upon its stage source – and I love it each time I watch it. I also had the good fortune to direct a production of the stage show last year and this was an immensely fulfilling experience. One song from this show in particular seems to have made a crossover as Christmas music and appears most notably on Barbra Streisand’s first Christmas album in a low-key ballad arrangement.

Got a special The Sound of Music memory? Head on down to the comment box.

Downloads from Amazon.com

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: 1. The Sound of Music 45th Anniversary Soundtrack MP3 Album. 2. “My Favorite Things” Soundtrack Version MP3.. 3. A Christmas Album – Barbra Streisand – MP3 Album. 4. “My Favorite Things” Barbra Streisand Version MP3..

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