Musical Theatre Advent Calendar: MAME

Posted on December 1, 2010 by David Fick

I’ve decided to have a musical theatre virtual advent calendar here at Musical Cyberspace. Today’s musical is Mame, Jerry Herman’s 1966 musical that starred Angela Lansbury and Bea Arthur. The show ran for a total of 1 508 performances, moving from the Winter Garden Theatre to the Broadway Theatre in 1969. Even today, it is still within the Top 50 longest-running Broadway musicals. So why does this show kick off my advent calendar? Simple. Because of the song posted above: “We Need a Little Christmas”. I have loved this song from the moment I first heard it, in a Marie Osmond Christmas special when I was 12 years old, before I had discovered the musical itself or the joys of Angela Lansbury as a musical theatre performer. The song also recently re-established itself in my consciousness because of the version recorded for the Glee Christmas album, where it is sung by Mercedes Jones (played by Amber Riley), Tina Cohen-Chang (Jenna Ushkowitz) and Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer).

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

Downloads from Amazon.com

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: 1. Mame Original Broadway Cast MP3 Album. 2. “We Need a Little Christmas” OBCR Version MP3.. 3. Glee: The Music – The Christmas Album MP3 Album. 4. “We Need a Little Christmas” Glee Version MP3..

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NEWSFLASH: Additional Casting for HOW TO SUCCEED…

Posted on November 15, 2010 by David Fick

John Larroquette

Above: John Larroquette

Following an announcement that the upcoming revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying will open at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on 27 March 2011, additional casting news has been released on Playbill.

Tammy Blanchard will play Hedy La Rue, Christopher J. Hanke will play Bud Frump and Rose Hemingway will play Rosemary Pilkington, with Rob Bartlett as Twimble/Wally Womper, Mary Faber as Smitty and Ellen Harvey as Miss Jones. They will join the previously confirmed Daniel Radcliffe and John Larroquette as J. Pierrepont Finch and J.B. Biggley respectively.

Since the casting of Larroquette was announced, there have been whispers about stunt casting in this production. Certainly, Daniel Radcliffe is a good piece of casting for getting an audience that might otherwise have ignored the show into the seats and his casting is probably one of the key things that has allowed this revival to move forward. I am also sure that John Larroquette has some kind of cache in terms of the audience base he has left over from his glory days, and certainly there might be some renewed interest in him owing to his recent stint on CSI: New York. Whether either is there on the basis of their celebrity rather than their talent is what people are debating, I suppose, but nothing can really be concluded until opening night. (And I’m sure there will at least be a few people who just go to see “H2$” for the sake of seeing the show itself.)

No word yet, however, on whether the Frank Loesser’s score or the Abe Burrows-Jack Weinstock-Willie Gilbert book will be revised in any way.

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Readathon Update: FINISHING THE HAT

Posted on November 7, 2010 by David Fick
FINISHING THE HAT

Above: The cover of FINISHING THE HAT

Today I updated the Finishing the Hat readathon with a reflection on Stephen Sondheim’s discussion on “Rhyme and Its Reasons”. Enjoy!

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Readathon Update: FINISHING THE HAT

Posted on November 6, 2010 by David Fick
FINISHING THE HAT

Above: The cover of FINISHING THE HAT

Today I updated the Finishing the Hat readathon with a reflection on Stephen Sondheim’s “Introduction”. Enjoy!

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RIP Jerry Bock

Posted on November 4, 2010 by David Fick

Jerry Bock, the composer of the musicals Fiddler on the Roof, Fiorello! and She Loves Me, passed away yesterday at the age of 81. Born in 1928, Bock wrote his first musical in high school (My Dream) and then collaborated with a university classmate Larry Holofcener on a series of musicals. Following this, Bock met lyricist Sheldon Harnick and the pair collaborated on a strong of musicals including the three mentioned above
as well as Tenderloin, The Apple Tree and The Rothschilds. The Jerry Bock Award for Excellence in Musical Theater was established in 1997 and is an annual grant presented in honour of the composer to a composer and lyricist at the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop. Here is the trailer for the film version of Fiddler on the Roof, featuring some of the transcendent music composed for that score by Bock:

Rest in Peace.

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A TANGLED Song

Posted on November 1, 2010 by David Fick

We’re now able to hear one of the Alan Menken/Glenn Slater songs from Disney’s Tangled Rapunzel project:

I’m not really sure what to make of it. It’s a sweet song, but I don’t get the stylistic link between the song and the film. Is Disney trying to take the narrative style of Shrek, the musical eclecticism of Wicked and whatever elements the company has retained of their own fairytale formula, then throwing them all together and hoping for the best when everything settles at the lowest common denominator?

I suppose it all makes sense that everything about the film is “tangled”. I just don’t think I like it very much.

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Oprah’s SOUND OF MUSIC Reunion

Posted on October 30, 2010 by David Fick

Yesterday, Oprah reunited the cast members who played the Von Trapp family in The Sound of Music for the first time in many years. I really enjoyed watching this episode of the eponymous talk show and even got misty-eyed a few times. It’s clear from the interviews in the show that The Sound of Music has touched many people’s lives. So what’s your favourite The Sound of Music memory? Have a look at the show if you haven’t – and then head on to the comments box to sound off!

Posted in Interviews, YouTube | Tagged , | 3 Comments

A Review of THE LION KING by Barry Aldridge

Posted on October 23, 2010 by David Fick

I found this review interesting to listen to and was glad that Aldridge had such a visceral emotional response to the show, though I disagree on his point that one needs to have seen the film to get the best experience of the show. I thought perhaps his very enthusiastic response to the show was partly owing to a lack of experience in general, as evidenced in this quotation from the review:

Barry Aldridge wrote:
This is my first ever musical, because I’ve been skeptical about musicals in the past and this is probably is the best musical I’ve ever seen.

While I absolutely agree that the costumes and choreography and indeed many of the other theatrical aspects of the show are incredibly engaging and although I enjoyed The Lion King when I saw it, I don’t feel it’s a perfect show by any means. There are very definitely problems with the book (in its construction, in some of the new scenes contrived for the show and in some of the actual dialogue) and with some of the additional musical material created for the adaptation, particularly the songs added to the show that were written by Elton John and Tim Rice. Even so, I think it is a good gateway show and I hope that Aldridge has checked his skepticism and seen a few more musicals since his experience of The Lion King!

Posted in Disney Theatrical Productions, Elton John, Hans Zimmer, Julie Taymor, Lebo M, Marc Mancina, Tim Rice | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Second TANGLED Trailer

Posted on September 24, 2010 by David Fick

The second trailer for Disney’s Tangled has been released:

All in all, this leaves me feeling better about the film than I did after the previous trailer. Although I’m still not won over by the look of the film as a whole, there are some stunning shots to be seen here. Maybe some last minute tinkering has been done. Guess we’ll have to wait until November to see what finally hits the screens.

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SAVED Again: Revised Show Opens at KCRT

Posted on September 19, 2010 by David Fick
The film version of SAVED!

The film version of SAVED!

A revised version of the Off-Broadway musical Saved opens tonight at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre for a run that will continue until 3 October 2010. Based on the film, the 2004 show features a book by John Dempsey and Rinne Groff, with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman.

Saved deals with a group of Christian high school students seeking acceptance and inclusion as they search for meaning in their complicated lives. About the revisions, director Gary Griffin has said that the Off Broadway version was like a ‘good first draft’ and that ‘it would be a shame to stop (working on the show) when we were just discovering the musical’s strengths.’ Gary Griffin talks about the show in the clip below:

The cast is led by Felicia Finley as Lillian, Graham Rowat as Pastor Mike and Nick Spangler as Patrick. The cast also features Patrick Andrews as Roland, Izzie Baldwin as Tia, Justis Bolding as Hilary Faye, Doogin Brown as Mitch, Gillian Goldberg as Cassandra, Laura Huizenga as Mary, David Hull as Dean and Emily Peterson as Lana.

Here’s a sneak peek of the show at KC:

Booking information is available from the Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s official website.

Posted in Musicals, Off Broadway, Regional, YouTube | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment