Staying Up Too Late

I've been staying up far too late. It's the summer epidemic. It hits my bedroom every summer and never fails. I suppose I could control it, but why waste the energy?

I'd rather just sit on Facebook, listening to Christina Perri sing "Jar of Hearts", watch Broadway videos on the ever-helpful YouTube, and dream with my eyes wide open.

I do a lot of dreaming with my eyes open. That way- I don't have to wake up from them and realize they aren't real. I can dream knowing it's just a dream and not have to face the fall.

The fall. An eternal fixture; an eternal fear.

"You're going to catch a cold from the ice inside your soul. Don't come back for me. Who do you think you are?"

Oh, how I wish I could say that!

Oh, how I wish I could say that! and mean it!

NEXT TO NORMAL Review

Next to Normal with Alice Ripley & Michael Berry

Thursday, July 8th, 2010 Booth Theatre

I’ve been a huge fan of the score of NEXT TO NORMAL for a very long time now. I have been looking forward to seeing for quite a long time, and I must say I was extremely pleased.

Yes, this is the future of the American musical. Saying that really says all I need to say about how much I enjoyed the score, the direction, the lighting, the set, the book and the orchestrations. Uniformly inventive and uniformly spectacular.

I’ll comment on the performances.

Alice Ripley was fantastic. Her acting was so intense and so committed. Really a haunting performance. Vocally, she is absolutely wonderful. Her unique vocal style only makes this performance more enchanting. I must comment, however, on this role in general or what I thought of it. To me, Ripley isn’t really playing a character. Yes, she’s Diana. But who is Diana? I feel Ripley is doing something much more on that stage that presents her with a much bigger challenge. She’s playing a disease- a sickness in human form. It’s arresting.

Michael Berry was on for Brian D’Arcy James, and he was very good if not a little vocally underwhelming. He was a nice anchor for the show and gets to sing some of the show’s most lovely tunes.

Jennifer Damiano is just fabulous as Natalie. It takes a little while to get used to where she has gone with the character, but once the audience really “gets it”, they are in for a real treat with her. Her “Superboy” stopped the show. Really a beautiful performance. I’d say she is the heart of this show.

Kyle Dean Massey was great, but that just isn’t a very interesting role. He’s kind of a villain, kind of a hero, kind of a mystery, kind of a sex symbol. His “I’m Alive” was full of energy and vocally spot-on. His “There’s a World” was haunting. Too bad he hardly shows up for the second act. It now makes more sense to me as to why Aaron Tveit was left out of the Tony race.

I feel like the best male supporting role in this show is Henry, and Adam Chanler-Berat is terrific. So charming. Louis Hobson was nice, but didn’t really give me anything too memorable to take with me.

We’re lucky to have this piece written in our time. It really is one of musical theatre’s newest treasures. 

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES Review

La Cage Aux Folles with Kelsey Grammer & Douglas Hodge

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 Longacre Theatre

I was really looking forward to seeing this much lauded revival of a show I’ve never really felt was worth its praise. Speaking only of the show itself and not this production, it’s really just a little fluff ball of a show with one truly emotional song and some numbers that literally pause the show for a few sleep-inducing moments. This production, however, made most of this somehow disappear, and what emerged onstage was an endearing, heartfelt and thoroughly entertaining evening of musical theatre.

I’ll begin with the performances.

I’ve truly never been impressed by anyone in the role of Georges, and I expected to be underwhelmed by Kelsey Grammer. I was very, very wrong. I thought he was spectacular- charming, lovable, strong. He carried the show and gave everyone (and everyone) a shoulder to lean on. He is the base of this production, and it shows. He was totally deserving of his Tony nomination, and to be honest, it’s hard for me to say that which leading LA CAGE male I would’ve cast my vote for.

Douglas Hodge was just fabulous. He’s a very different Albin from what I have seen before- think more Nathan Lane in “The Birdcage.” His Albin is much more of a mother figure, and that makes the story so much more interesting. I will admit that a few of his lines were completely lost by me because of his accent, but I adjusted to it in time and all was well. His “I Am What I Am” did just as it was designed to do. It brought the house down and closed the act with a crowd-pleasing bang. Hodge’s voice is so soothing- often almost a whisper. He’s a performer who really knows what he is doing up on that stage. He and Grammer both deserved all the accolades they have received for these two fabulous performances.

The supporting cast was strong but could hardly hold a candle to their leads. I thought Robin De Jesus was quite weak. I’ve seen this role played in many regional theatres, and it’s really not a hard one to get right. It’s a comic relief role. Somehow De Jesus missed that point and, honestly, got very few laughs throughout the night. I wasn’t really bothered by his accent but rather his lack of real “spice.” There were many other featured male performers that should have taken his spot on the Tonys nominee list.

Fred Applegate and Veanne Cox were nice. It was nice to see them in the earlier scenes, and their later scenes were nice as well. I suppose it is not their fault they are burdened with the worst song in the score “Cocktail Counterpoint.” That song is, in fact, the only song in this production that truly did not work. That was the only time that entire evening that I simply wanted a scene to end. Cox had me very worried at the beginning of the scene with her odd take on the character. I eventually warmed up to it, and she was great later in the show. In no way shape or form should she have been on anyone’s Tony nominees list. I read about people mentioning her as a Tony possibility, and that would have really been one embarrassing nomination.

A.J. Shively and Elena Shaddow were nice. Shively was endearing, and I really felt the love in that household. He and Grammer had beautiful chemistry. I wish I would’ve been able to hear Shaddow sing a little more. She needs to find herself a good soprano role on Broadway soon. Christine Andreas is cursed with the show’s worst role, but she does what she can with it. I felt it was very awkward when she starting singing with Hodge in the title song. That character is just so absolutely random to me.

The Cagelles were absolutely breathtaking. The title number was one of the most thrilling things I’ve ever seen on the Broadway stage. Really just spectacular. I wish the Tonys could’ve pulled a Von Trapp children nomination and nominated all of them together in the featured actor category. No doubt they would have won!

Lynne Page’s choreography is spectacular. This really was a great year for dancing on Broadway. That was a pretty tough category this year when you think about it. Tim Shortall’s scenic design was simple and transporting. I felt like I was at that night club. I really did. Matthew Wright’s costumes were nice, and Nick Richings’ lighting was spot-on without getting in the way. I could have done with a little more robustness as far as sound goes. The mics were a little weak, and the Cagelles ad-libs during their dances were inaudible. Jason Carr’s orchestrations were as lush as they needed to be aside from the dreadful orchestrations for “Look Over There.”

I must hand it to Terry Johnson for creating such a special show. He found a heart in this show, and that is no doubt the most special thing about this production. A lot of that, I’m sure, has to do with the casting. There is an abundance of chemistry on that stage, and it makes a world of difference. I wasn’t as enthralled by the grittier side of that world that people have talked so much about. I didn’t need to be. I was enraptured by the joy of the show and the love that was springing from every actor into the audience. 

Daily Dreamings

I swim laps everyday after work. It's very therapeutic. I do some of my best thinking when I'm submerged in that blue water with a pair of goggles that aren't mine plastered to my face and letting small trickles of water in where the suction doesn't quite grab ahold of my skin. I dream a lot while I'm swimming. I've been dreaming quite a lot about my dream "Hello, Dolly!" cast. It's one of my favorite Broadway musicals- so classic, so fun, so entertaining. And I love to think up my own starry revival cast. Here's what I am thinking:

Dolly Gallagher Levi: Meryl Streep. I mean, come on. How perfect! She's a commanding presence, a delightful comedienne and a respectable vocalist... not to mention a HUGE star name. Can't you just imagine? "MERYL is DOLLY!"

Irene Molloy: Anne Hathaway. This seems to be the most obvious "star" choice for Irene. Hathaway is so classically beautiful and her voice is very nice. And wouldn't a "Devil Wears Prada" reunion just be fabulous? Amy Adams, Kristin Chenoweth or, for a pretty strictly Broadway name, Laura Benanti would be my other choices. 

Horace Vandergelder: Alec Baldwin. He'd work so perfectly opposite Streep and wouldn't seem too odd to be paired with Hathaway. 

Cornelius Hackl: Sean Hayes. Though I doubt he'd ever sign on for a show where he'd likely receive fourth billing, I think he'd be dynamite in this role. I think this is a part that is so often overlooked, but you've really got to have a gifted comic actor in this role to make it work. Hayes has proven he's just that. 

Barnaby Tucker: Justin Bartha. The perfect awkwardly charming presence. If Michael Cera could sing the role, he'd be wonderful as well. 

Minnie Fay: Leigh Ann Larkin. This is definitely the most difficult for me to cast in my head. I keep thinking to myself "a young Kristin Chenoweth, a young Kristin Chenoweth." I think, on Broadway at least, that's Larkin at the moment. She's been mostly well-received for her last two performances- both of which were rather lofty reinventions of characters in two very high profile revivals. 

A boy can dream. But wouldn't that be fabulous? Now, all they need is me to direct, and we've got TONY GOLD!