Gypsy

Besides Curtains, I bought some scalped tickets on the street to the musical production of Gypsy starring Broadway diva Patti LuPone famous from her Tony winning performance in Evita and her special guest appearance on Will & Grace. My seat, however, was literally the last seat in the house on the second balcony, I had to lean forward to see everything and for the second act I sat on the top of my seat.

Set during the vaudeville era, Gypsy is about the ultimate pushy stage mom, Rose, traveling the country with her two daughters, June and Louise, and their manager, Herbie. While June and Louise wish their mother would settle down and marry , Rose continues to pursue dreams of stardom for her girls...and for the dreams she never got to pursue. When June deserts the act, Rose turns her attention to the shy Louise, whom she hopes to fashion into a star. When the act is booked into a burlesque house by mistake, Louise is forced on the stage to strip and dancer Gypsy Rose Lee is born. Famous songs include "Let Me Entertain You," and "Everything's Turning Up Roses." The songs are catchy and I've been singing "So let me entertain you, let me make you smile, And we'll have a real good time..." since I left the theater. One year shy of its 50th anniversary, I think Gypsy is more for female audiences though.

I had always regretted not seeing Gypsy back when Bernadette Peters was in the starring role of Mama Rose, which is considered one of the greatest and most difficult roles for a musical theater actress. As a result, I couldn't help picturing throughout the show how Peters would do each scene. However, that's not to say LuPone wasn't good as the leading lady, she just wasn't as cute, lol. The famous final scene where she sings "Rose's Turn" she more than wowed me with her strong and emotional singing. In fact, I got teary. For a video of this scene check out the clip on YouTube.

Curtains on Broadway

One of the big things that I miss about NYC is Broadway. I used to know all about the latest shows and would go quite often, but now I'm so out of the loop. I did however get to see Curtains, staring Frasier's David Hyde Pierce who I love and apparently the Tony's do too since he won for Best Actor in a Musical, 2007. The show opened last March but unfortunately will be closing on June 29th so do see it while you can.

Curtains is part murder mystery and part backstage musical. The show unfolds backstage at a Boston theater in 1959, where a new musical could be a Broadway smash, were it not for the presence of its talent-free leading lady. When the hapless star dies on opening night during her curtain call, Lieutenant Frank Cioffi (Pierce) arrives on the scene to conduct an investigation. But the lure of the theater proves irresistible and after an unexpected romance blooms for the stage-struck detective, he finds himself just as drawn toward making the show a hit, as he is in solving the murder.

David has a beautiful voice and is definitely charismatic on stage. His accent, a mixture of a Bostonian and 50s cop talk, is pretty impressive, very unlike his Niles voice and never wavered. He even sang in the accent. Anyway, I'm a huge fan of his so I'm sure I would have liked his performance no mater what, but he did exceed my high expectations. After the show, I waited outside by the stage door hoping to see him leave and was rewarded with a signed playbill and a photograph. I told him I loved his performance and owned every season of Frasier on DVD. He was super sweet and stayed to greet each person waiting in line, he even retook a photo with someone after hearing the woman declare that it came out blurry. Really nice of him.


To see the cast perform the song "Show People" check out this clip.

Sweet Charity

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Last night we caught an evening performance of Sweet Charity at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, which formerly was a movie house and home of The Academy Awards for 10 years. Compared to the tight theaters in Times Square this theater was pretty grand. 80s star Molly Ringwald plays the lead role as Charity Hope Valentine in the national tour of the free spirited late 60s musical about a lounge hall dancer in New York City trying to find love despite her profession and disappointments. There is also a film adaptation by Bob Fosse and stars another famous red head, Shirley MacLaine. The story was written by the awesome Neil Simon (Odd Couple, The Goodbye Girl), and includes such hits as "Hey, Big Spender" and "If My Friends Could See Me Now." The score has been playing in my head all night and this morning.

Two summers ago, I saw Sweet Charity on Broadway with Christina Applegate and really enjoyed the dancing and fun sets, plus Christina's quirkyness in the role and comedic timing. She also looked beautiful. I had blogged a review on the show here. It's too bad the musical didn't last long on Broadway though, but this production and choreography is based on the 2005 revival that I had originally seen. So the sets, costumes and dance numbers wee the same, just some new faces.

As for Molly, I always liked her but after seeing Applegate and MacLaine in the role, she came off looking more like orphan Annie in her red dress than the sexy and charming Sweet Charity. Her singing was better than I expected, no qualms there and I'm always impressed with actors that are triple threats, but I guess Molly is only a double threat since her dancing seemed forced and out done by the cast. Just the fickle fingers of fate, I guess.

For more information on Sweet Charity and to see which cities the show will be stopping at next, go to: www.sweetcharitythemusical.com

The Color Purple

Sunday, September 10, 2006

I had three books glued to my cap when I graduated from Wheaton College (I majored in English) and Alice Walker's The Color Purple was one of them. I also remember being sick in elementary school and watching the film when I was home and became enthralled. I've seen it at least a dozen times now. Tonight though I saw the musical version of The Color Purple on Broadway backed by Oprah and loved it just as much as the the former two mediums.

The songs were great, the costumes timely and colorful, the story as inspirational and dramatic as ever and the cast was great. I was impressed with how the music really fit along with the narrative and wasn't forced or out of step at all considering it's the first time the story was adapted into a musical form. The leading actress, LaChanze, who played Celie, Whoopi's character from the film, won a Tony Award for best actress in a musical this year and I can now see why. Her singing gave me chills when it hit the high notes and oozed her passion. The musical followed closer to the book especially the relationships between Shug Avery, Mister and Celie. At times I was laughing and at others my eyes were glistening. Not once did I look at my watch or wonder when intermission was coming. The audience was cheering on the characters and rised to their feet at the end. So, yeah, I'd recommend seeing it. My friend Karen got us both rush tickets in the second row for $26, it felt like we were practically on the stage with the cast.

The film meanwhile just made AFI's 100 Years 100 Cheers list of inspiratonal films.

Jersey Boys

Friday, October 14, 2005

I'm not writing about some drunken trip to Hoboken again, but about the new Broadway musical that's still in previews, Jersey Boys.

Going with the new trend of featuring a score from just one musical group (All Shook Up, Good Vibrations, Mamma Mia, Moving Out, etc.) this show has music only from Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Unlike the other shows I mentioned, which try to come up with a plot that weaves in the story from the different songs (Mamma Mia does this well though) this musical is about the creation of the songs and the band itself. How they met in Jersey, their struggle to make it big and escape jail, the mob and to balance family. Because the singers are Italian and from Jersey there is a lot of cursing, but I found it amusing and given the fact that my Italian family uses the F word in almost every sentence, I felt at home ;) Overall, It was like watching That Thing You Do meets The Sopranos but in concert form.

I really liked each actor playing the four musicians, I can't pick which one I liked the most, because they each added a different element and had their own story to tell. Usually there is that one actor that outshines the others, but my friend K said the same thing, they were all good in the roles.

However, the show is too long. They could have cut out a scene or two, but then it would have meant losing one of their songs like Sherry, Big Girls Don't Cry, Walk Like a Man, Oh What A Night, Rag Doll or Can't Take My Eyes Off of You, which would have been unfortunate. Since The Four Seasons had so many hits the show at times rushed through the songs and tried cramming them all in and it was definitely noticeable. The crowd the night that we went though was clapping and screaming out Bravo so enthusiastically it felt like we were really watching a live Four Seasons concert with the Biography channel playing their life story in the background. Warning, if you're not a fan of cursing or get annoyed by the high pitched songs, definitely avoid this show. But I found it fun despite being a little too long and am still singing the different songs at work...not out loud though.

Spelling Bee & Avenue Q

Monday, September 26, 2005

I finally saw the coveted new Broadway show, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee on Saturday evening with K. The musical comedy is about a group of grade school misfits who compete in the county spelling competition.

The theater is decorated with school banners and hand painted signs, just like a real educational institution would be. Even the stage and theater are made to look like a gymnasium with wooden floors, basketball hoops and a circular seating arena. It's really fun and creative, putting you in the scholastic mood right from the start. And the setting really made me eager for the live performance.

The show is partly interactive since they pick four audience members to come sit on the bleachers with the other contestants and even have them spell words with the actors. It's pretty funny. Even funnier are the sentences they give the children to describe the words that they are asked to spell.

The students, played by adults, range from a shy Asian girl yearning to rebel and not be so perfect, to a heavy boy who uses his foot to spell out the words he's given. Then there is a lonely girl in pig tails; a lesbian named Logann who is raised by two dads; an Asian boyscout who is more interested in the ladies at the bee; and a lispy red head boy who does not think he's smart. All of whom are under pressure to win in order to make their parents happy and eager to prove that they are the smartest.

Overall, it's a fun show, lots of laughter and enjoyment. The songs are cute but not memorable, since I can't recall any of them off the top of my head except the Unintended Erection one. However, the story line, humor and cast members make up for the lack of creative/catchy music.

Spelling Bee was nominated for six 2005 Tony Awards and won two, including Dan Fogler's performance as an overweight speller blessed with the magic foot.

Starting Oct. 2, they will be having 'Mature Audience Only' shows on certain set days, where there will be more naughtier words to spell.
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After a theater going dry spell, it was a Broadway weekend for me, because the following day another friend and I took in the matinee showing of Avenue Q. This musical includes puppets, so yes another kids theme, yet again more for adults and their life lessons.

Avenue Q is the story of Princeton, a typical bright-eyed college grad who comes to NYC seeking a purpose but with a tiny bank account. He soon discovers that the only neighborhood in his price range is Avenue Q, which doesn't exist but makes fun of how far out it is, since the avenues in Manhattan only go up to D.

There he meets neighbors under similar circumstances, including a single girl who is a "monster" and his building's superintendent the former child star, Gary Coleman (played by a woman). Together, Princeton and his newfound friends struggle to find jobs, dates, and their ever-elusive "purpose" in life.
Despite winning the Tony for best Musical, I was hesitant to see this production. The whole human and puppets idea seemed freaky, but who knew puppet sex would be so funny, lol. And unlike Spelling Bee, the songs are catchy and more memorable. They include original titles like, "Sucks to Be Me," "It's OK if You're Gay," and "Everyone's a Little Racist."
The songs are sometimes interrupted by Sesame Street like cartoon lessons being shown on side TVs, but they aren't G rated e.g. a lesson about one night stands, haha.

Celeb Sightings: Saw David Hyde Peirce at the Broadway Flea Market & Auction, who by the way I've always had a crush on. I know, I know, shut up. He looked really good too. And the red head guy (Alan Tudyk) from A Knight's Tale walked by me on 45th Street on the way to the theater, but he looked upset and in a rush so I didn't say anything.

Sweet Charity

Saturday, June 4, 2005

Yesterday, I went to see the musical "Sweet Charity" at the Al Hershfeild theater with my friend Farrah, who is visiting from New Orleans and Karen (this is her third time seeing it).

Despite the delays and problems surrounding this production, I have been really excited to see it since I heard "Sweet Charity" was coming to Broadway. I always liked the original Neil Simon film with Shirley McLaine. This time in the role of Charity is the talented Christina Applegate, who was adorable and did a great job playing the naive and hopeful dance hall hostess looking for love in the 60s. She was even nominated for Tony for her performance, although she did not win.

Songs include "Hey, Big Spender," "Rhythm of Life" and "If My Friend's Could See Me Now!"

The set was very colorful and had lots of nightlife lights and 1960s flair, but the wonderful choreographed dancing took center stage.

For me, the two hours really flew by and not once did I look at my watch. Instead, I was actually shocked when it was the final scene already.

PS: We saw Julia Stiles outside with this reddish haired guy, they looked like they were just friends tho. She was seated in the Orchestra rows too, so we saw her again during intermission. She was late getting back to her seat, so more people noticed her because of that. She was shorter than I expected, but looked very pretty with wavy shoulder length blonde hair.

PPS: Afterwards went to The Lobby for the first time and met up with 3 friends for sort of a mini high school reunion. One of them, Carolyn, I hadn't seen in four years. The place was fun and packed, we danced to Hip Hop and had a few drinks. I was tipsy going home on the subway and talked to a guy on the platform--one of the only times I wasn't eager to see the train come.

Altar Boyz: Off-Broadway

Thursday, April 28, 2005

Last night my friend Mike was kind enough to bring me to the awesome off-Broadway show, Altar Boyz. It's SO funny!! It's about a group of singers from Ohio who form a pop-group and go across the country to cleanse evil souls and preach about God or as they say G.O.D.

Each character embodies a certian archetype of a pop-star. There is the Justin Timberlake leader, the Enrique Iglesias/Ricky Martin guy, the rapping white dude, the still in-the-closet Clay Aiken type (who stole the show), and the talented Jewish song writer and singer with wacky gelled hair. Each one was amazing!

The songs were very original and hilarious, as well as the corny choreography that mocks N'Sync and other boy bands while putting in Catholic gestures.

One song is called, "Girl You Make Me Want to Wait" (which he sings to a woman picked out of the audience) and "Jesus, Called Me On My Cell Phone."

The theater is on 50th Street so it's not that far off Broadway and its an amazing space. Very modern, like you are going to an art gallery.

I enjoyed the show from the minute they walked out on stage and I urge everyone to go see it if they have the chance. Tickets are pretty reasonable too.

Review: N'Sync meets Nunsense, with the apostles of pop: Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan and Abraham!

Steel Magnolias

Wednesday, April 6, 2005

The 80s tear jerker film, Steel Magnolias, is now on Broadway and with a GREAT cast playing the six women in a Louisiana beauty salon sharing laughter, tears and strength.

Delta Burke is in the Dolly Parton role
Christine Ebersole (SNL 81-82, Folks, My Girl 2) as the mother of...
Rebecca Gayheart (Dylan's wife in 90210) who plays the Julia Roberts part.
Marsha Mason plays the cantankerous and funny Ouiser.
Lily Rabe is the new comer to town. This is one of her first Broadway roles and she does an excellent job.
Frances Sternhagen, Charlotte's uptight mother-in-law from "Sex and the City," steals the show as the classy Mayor's widow.

I'm a fan of Marsha Mason, which is why I pre-ordered tickets for my mother and me. For those of you who still haven't seen her in the 70s romantic drama, The Goodbye Girl or Max Dugan Returns, then what are you waiting for? Since Mason is no stranger to the theater, she of course did a great job projecting and looked at home on the stage. I just wish her character was in more scenes.

Of course, I was also looking forward to seeing Delta Burke. I loved her in Designing Women, and I thought she did a good job playing the gentle but gossipy hair dresser. She also looked great. At times though she spoke a little too softly but was still very endearing.

Gayheart was OK, but she definitely got overshadowed by the amazing talent around her.

Although I was excited to see the play, I hoped it wasn't just like the movie, which I've seen a dozen times, because that would be boring. It wasn't! The whole story takes place in the beauty salon and none of the male characters appear, instead they are just referenced. There's also a bit more social commentary in the play that I did not remember from the film. Plus the new actresses brought the characters to life in a new way. Oh and you gotta love the 80s hair and outfits... and did I mention the Southern Charm?

I think I cried harder during the ending of the play than I did in the movie, because having the raw emotion screamed at you from a few feet away is very powerful. Also, every woman there was trying to keep the tears in or at least be quiet about the crying, which made it even harder.

Review: A sweet comedy, Magnolia's gets a smashing new run

La Cage aux Folles

Friday, February 18, 2005

I just saw La Cage on Broadway. For those who don't know the film Birdcage was based on this musical spectacular. The best thing about seeing the musical though is that it focuses more on the gay burlesque show, so it feels like you are getting two shows for the price of one.

Playing the Robin Williams role is Daniel Davis, who was Niles the butler in TV's The Nanny. He did a great job and sang wonderfully. I admit I was pretty excited to see him, since I always liked him on The Nanny.

As the other leading man or lady, is Gary Breach who's performance could rival Nathan Lane's. When he was sing La Cage in his French accent I kept thinking of Lumiere the candle stick in Beauty in the Beast singing Be My Guest. Good thing I whispered that to my family otherwise they wouldn't have believed me later that I had guessed right, because during intermission we read in the PlayBill that Gary had created the role of Lumiere and is the voice of the Disney cartoon.

The outrageous costumes and dance numbers were amazing. People actually gasped and crossed their legs when the men would bend in ways a man so shouldn't, especially in this one ballet scene. I have to admit the men in drag looked really good and I was jealous of their amazing legs, some could rival Tina Turner's.

I was not too impressed with the father in law character, I guess because I kept thinking of the great job Gene Hackman did in the movie.

One of the songs featured in the Musial was the fun song that Ru Paul had remade, "I am what I am." I knew his version so I was not aware that it was in La Cage first back when it first debuted in the mid 80s. I'm now playing his version because it's been in my head ever since I left the Marquis Theater.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Thursday, February 3, 2005

I saw Broadway's new musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels last night. The film turned musical is currently still in previews and stars John Lithgow.

I liked the original late 80s film with Michael Caine and Steve Martin, so I was skeptical seeing it with new actors and as a musical, however I was pleasantly surprised. The whole show was really fun and filled with an exciting and electric spirit that captured me and the audience.
The Academy Award nominee and Emmy-winning, John Lithgow, was of course great as Lawrence Jameson, the classy seasoned con man/gigolo played by Michael Caine in the movie. Lithgow sang his numbers wonderfully and played the comedic character with ease in a seemingly effortless way. In the Steve Martin role as the unpolished cheat is stage actor Norbert Leo Butz, formerly of Wicked.
There were lots of added jokes relevant to recent public figures and pop-culture events that had everyone laughing. The show also included the audience in on their jokes by stepping out onto the balcony, having a staged usher sing or looking out at the filled seats and commenting: "Someone might need me in the second act."
The songs were fun without a corny dramatic feel. There is actually a love song called "Love is my Legs" that makes fun of love songs in general and big Broadway love ballots, which was a riot.

The sets were lively with an island vacation feel to them and would constantly spin into a new set, even as the characters were walking on it. How the stars never tripped or got dizzy is beyond me. The costumes though were my favorite. The dancers would come out in these really pretty gowns or tango clothes, plus the general wardrobe fit perfectly with the setting.
The new script also added in a diverting and cute side romance between two secondary characters that wasn't in the original film. These characters are played by the amusing Joanna Gleason and Gregory Jbara.

Sorry I keep mentioning the word fun, but that is what the show is, fun. The musical officially opens March 3 and will sure to be the next "The Producers."