Anticipation and the Struggles of Keeping Up

The turnover rate on Broadway is such an odd thing to witness. On one hand you want to watch a show if you get there by some turn of events. But you appreciate the opportunity for new works to get their moment in the sun, or under the lights, as it was. Then there is the joy of watching a show be open long enough to recoup, then to get some sort of long running title (I’m waiting for you, Chicago).

Every year we see these shows flicker out and go dark, to see new ones take their place. I have heard gossip of new shows ranging from Mean Girls the Musical, and Clueless the Musical, 

and the rumor I think that is most passed around, bringing the NBC show Smash's fictional show Bombshell to the stage.

Speaking of rumors, chatter of a musical adaptation of Gloria Estefan’s life, came about and will now be opening on Broadway later this year. 

The (arguably too soon) revival of Spring Awakening is much anticipated and lauded due to the critically acclaimed deaf theatre west production and will be opening on Broadway soon. 

Most of the shows that are being chatted about are all revivals: Fiddler on the Roof, Dames At Sea, And the Color Purple. 

Yes, that's Jessie Mueller

Not to be out done, are the “new works” that are based on something… School Of Rock, Waitress The Musical, And Tuck Everlasting.

For me, personally, I’m so happy that Allegiance is finally opening. It's been too long, George Takei

Looking back on the previous couple of seasons, it's odd to remember how worked up we all were about Rocky The Musical (Aherns & Flaherty do no wrong), Bridges Of Madison County (JRB does no wrong), Bullets Over Broadway (..is that Zach Braff??)

Last year was really interesting to see an American in Paris, and On the Town open, and be hits! Something Rotten was such an original thing, and that made me swoon, but honestly the fact that Fun Home got the recognition it deserved made me proud to be a musical theatre nerd.

The titles, and stars, and composers names that fly around the theatre world can be dizzying.

Did I read there is a musical based on Tupac’s music?

Kelsey Grammer is playing a pirate in something?

Jason Robert Brown has another show opening on Broadway?

Could it be that Sara Bareilles wrote the score for a show? Is it good?

It’s hard to keep up, and I love that I have a hobby like this. 

It's like collecting baseball cards, but the revisions are every other week

(I don't actually know how baseball card collecting works).

It’s hard to tell if the anticipation actually works in ticket sales. Most of the shows I mentioned in the post did not do well. Some of them will most likely be hits (fingers crossed, Spring Awakening) and a lot of them will not get the audiences they deserve.

Did shows like The Music Man, and The Wiz and Sweeney Todd face these kinds of rumors and apprehension? Before the time of the internet, what was the rumor mill like? It’s fun to think of those things…

Have you ever been burned by a show you were expecting big things from, even just the cast album? What’s the show you have most been looking forward to? Why?

Successful Shows

It’s weird to think about what actually makes a show successful.

Is it the awards that it wins? There are shows that won the Tony Award for Best Musical and are still fairly unknown by the public like Contact, or Passion, and Raisin are probably some of the best examples.

If those shows make money, or at the very least recoups on Broadway is it deemed a success?

Is it the fact that it makes it to Broadway at all, which is the dream, right?

These questions have been asked time and time again, and answered in all forms. When it comes to a producer, I think the bottom line is if it makes its investment back, those are cold numbers. For a creative team, a Director, or a Composer, I feel that opening on Broadway is the ultimate goal. It goes down in the books. Regardless of how it performs, the reviews it receives, you were at one time, at least, a Broadway show.

In my opinion, being a theatre lover outside of the New York bubble, the life after Broadway is what i feel makes a show a success. That it what the general public consumes. Does it get more than one national tour, does it get produced by high schools, colleges, churches, and community theatres, how popular is the cast album, is there accessible merchandise? I think about Spring Awakening, and Seussical the Musical, and of course Les Miz. These shows have had smashing success outside of Broadway.

My years in high school, the musicals were The Pajama Game, The Music Man, Once Upon A Mattress, and Anything Goes. All 4 of those shows have extremely easy visibility, and almost any Joe Schmoe you stop on the street will have heard of those shows. I have already talk extensively about Mattress, and Anything Goes, but I also wanted to point out that Pajama Game, and The Music Man both won the Tony the year they were nominated (1955 & 1958 respectively)

Recently my vocal ensemble put on a losers show. We highlighted a lot of shows that are popular but may have lost some major awards. Once on This Island (lost to the Will Roger’s Follies in ‘91), Mamma Mia (lost to Thoroughly Modern Millie in ‘02)

and Barnum (lost to Evita in ‘80) were some of the bigger highlights of the show. It was a fun show to research on a production level. To see these great shows that held such admiration and memories but may not have gotten the time and accolades they deserved. It was nice to give these shows a little bit of love on stage, in as grand of a way as we could.

What’s a favorite of yours that you feel was robbed? Do you think “lesser-known” shows should get a bigger life after Broadway?

The Relationship Between Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Shows That I Hate

Do you ever just hate something? Look, I mentioned before that I didn't really get into Bat Boy… and there are plenty of musicals out there that I may just not be into, but that doesn't mean I hate them, plus I’m sure they have an audience, and for some reason or another, it's not me. Or maybe even you.

I do have some shows on a list that I do hate, and I have a host of reason why I don't like them. I think at the top of my list is probably Phantom of the Opera.

The truth is that I struggle with my animosity toward this show in particular. To defend it, first, I have to acknowledge its place in history. Phantom premiered on the West End the greatest year even to pass, 1986. It then opened on Broadway in 1988, and has since become the longest running Broadway show. it is the first Broadway show to have over 10,000 performances. It is an opulent show, and for MANY theatre goers, it is the gateway drug to stage. Over half of my performing friends state that Phantom is the first show they saw. Whether is be on Broadway, or a National Tour of the show. For those things, and the dynamic of such a demanding score, the show gets, at the very least my respect.

The story-line of Phantom of the Opera makes my skin crawl. Understanding the culture and gender dynamics of 1880s Europe is one thing, but romanticizing a young girl falling desperately in love with a disembodied voice really creeps me out. Also, his means of woo-ing her, and basically playing on her Daddy-issues makes me upset. The lyrics to “Music of the Night” are trying so hard to be poignant and sexy at the same time that I get brought to a point of nausea every time I hear it sung. To get a little more in detail, I don't like Michael Crawford’s voice. I also do not like Sarah Brightman’s voice, but that is just a personal preference. I also, based on first-hand experience, have seen how this show, in all its grandness, and all its spectacle is extremely dated. the special effects on the stage were most likely phenomenal in the late '80s, but now it's comical. Also, when I saw it on Broadway in 2007, the actors looked so bored. It was tragic. The bottom-line is this musical (with the exception of one song) doesn't make me at all introspective, or mindful of anything. I don't personally feel any connection to what is happening, and none of the narrative transcends into my personal ideologies about life and love.

Andrew Lloyd Webber has a habit of composing shows that I don't like. Of the ones that I personally am familiar, the only one that I enjoy listening to, watching, or performing is Jesus Christ Superstar

Fun Fact In 1969 Andrew Lloyd Webber and frequent collaborator, Tim Rice,  wrote a song for the Eurovision Song Contest called "Try It and See," which was not selected. With rewritten lyrics it became "King Herod's Song" in their third musical collaboration, Jesus Christ Superstar (1970).

Evita, which I feel is best summed up by Patti LuPone: “There are some very romantic moments in his music, and there is some real...trash that he doesn't even think about parting with. He's not a very good editor of his own stuff." There is a nostalgic attitude about Cats as well. The impression I get is that a lot of dancers really enjoy the work, and also, once again, the effects of the show with the over-sized set pieces, and “magic” from Mr. Mistoffelees, were all big “wow” moments, but are now super outdated. The whole thing feels like a joke now.

Sunset Boulevard and Starlight Express are shows that I am only aware of, and Whistle Down the Wind was just an abomination on the stage. I happened to be lucky enough to score tickets to the show, and while I feel the design of the show was stunning, the music, the dialogue, and the story were all just cloying. I was so annoyed with that show, I wanted to leave at intermission, but stayed out of a morbid curiosity.

In the past I have heard many other performers and theatre-goers talk about their dislikes as well. A large number of people have an aversion to the Rodgers and Hammerstein shows. I think Oklahoma, and Carousel are mentioned most. I never got a full feeling as to why, but I gather it's mostly for some of the same reasons I don’t like some Andrew Lloyd Webber shows, they are outdated, and over-played. One of the most interesting conversations I have had is with older theatre lovers, who were around when Stephen Sondheim started his climb into notoriety, and these people were never big fans on Sondheim’s styling with words and uncommon music detail. “it just doesn’t stick in your head like Lerner & Lowe would” or “I don't feel like dancing around like I would with Rodgers & Hammerstein”.

I felt that I had to argue these points, but they never went very far, and we are all allowed our own feelings, especially when it comes to the emotional connection to theatre.

Speaking of Lerner and Lowe, I feel a strong obligation to mention that Camelot is the most boring piece of theatre I have ever seen on a stage in my entire life.

It’s so interesting how polarizing entertainment can be. I remember starting high school in a new city, and the first thing people would ask me was “Are you a Rocker or a Rapper?” and I have seen some of my more passionate friends almost come to blows over which Star Wars is the more superior. I myself have scoffed over the mere mention of someone enjoying Cats.

What is polarizing for you? is there something that you just hate? Or something that you would throw a punch over that love so much? Let me know!

The Great White Way

Going to New York City and seeing a Broadway show is every theatre fans dream. Whether its where the obsession started, or where it was cultivated, or where your end game resides, for most American theatre lovers, Broadway remains the pinnacle. I was able to elevate my musical mania on the week of my 21st birthday. I was able to drink alcohol legally for the first time, and I boarded a plane super hungover and landed in rainy New York City on April 9th, 2007.

So many wonderful shows were open at the time, and we saw most of them. We had tickets to 10 shows, so basically every slot time a show was playing, including a Monday night (when theatres usually don’t have a show).

My very first introduction was that very evening we landed. We saw Forbidden Broadway: SVU and It was awesome. Forbidden Broadway has a handful of shows including a ‘Greatest Hits’ that one could get the rights to, and is performed all over the place, but the off-Broadway performance I saw was making fun of the shows that were currently running or were very popular at the time like Ave. Q and Wicked. It was a fun start to the week.

Here's a fun fact: the section of Broadway containing the Theatre District was one of the first streets to be lit by electric lights, giving it the nickname The Great White Way

Walking out of the Walter Kerr Theatre with my head spinning after seeing Grey Gardens was probably my favorite experience. It was the most amazing show. It was pretty new on Broadway, and the Grey Gardens story had not been told as much then as it is part of the zeitgeist now, with the release of the movie with Drew Barrymore and references in popular culture.

Seeing Christine Ebersole (or as I referred to her, Richie Rich’s Mom) in such an amazingly complex role, well, two roles, was the thrill of a lifetime for an audience member. She was amazing, and she absolutely deserved the Tony that she won that year. I also was not able to get over the sets and lighting of that piece. It was so stunning. The first act was so opulent and affluent with grand staircases, and silk dresses, and the second act was a picture of so much squalor and destitution. It was more than a show, but an experience. I loved that show so very much.

Crying in public is something that I try to not do as much as possible as well, but during the funeral scene in Spring Awakening, I couldn’t help myself. I had to cover my mouth to keep from sobbing out loud at the moment Melchoir touches Mortiz’s father, and he crumbles into a heap of blubbering. It was such a powerful moment in the life of a musical. I have seen the show several times since then, and the moment is always powerful. Most of the original cast was on that stage when I saw the show; with the exception of one Lea Michele (pre-Glee) but her standby was none other than the now smashingly successful Krysta Rodriguez. Plus seeing Jonathan Groff’s ass is ALWAYS a good thing.

It is always such a surreal thing to talk about my experience with New York City. It wasn't the best time for me, on an emotional level. There were a lot of private, tumultuous things happening, and it also rained the entire time we were there, which was honestly just par for the course. However, I saw so much great theatre that touched me deeply.

Raul Esparza sobbing as he sung Being Alive alone on a perfectly lit stage in Stephen Sondheim’s Company Revival was one of the most touching interpretations of that song I have ever seen or heard. The technical design of the set of Disney’s Mary Poppins will forever remain true magic in my mind. I still have a hard time convincing myself of seeing a three-story house (with a floating top-floor nursery) on the stage at the New Amsterdam.

Like many other people I dream of going back, seeing those original shows, some that may not make it passed the great white way and some that may not every hold the same gravity that they did on the stages where they were originated. I love the idea of being there from the beginning, and seeing stars shine, new and old, fresh and established alike. The glitz and the glamour of Broadway shows holds its allure for a special reason, there is nothing quite like it. Those bright lights, and the history and charm of Times Square and the Theatre District have been written, and sung about for decades.

This is a complete list of the shows I saw April 9 - April 16, 2007

Spring Awakening

The Drowsy Chaperone

Disney’s Tarzan

Disney’s Mary Poppins

The Phantom of the Opera

Company 2006 Revival

Grey Gardens

Legally Blonde: The Musical

(Off-Broadway) Forbidden Broadway: SVU

(Off-Broadway) Altar Boyz

Have you been to NYC to see shows? What was your experience like?

Family and Leaving Behind a Legacy

Thinking about my family, it makes me smile to think about how different we are. Though we do have our own tendencies to become obsessed or addicted to certain things, performing, and musical theatre never got under anyone else’s skin like it did for me. My mom, I think enjoys it more that my dad, or my brother, but no where near to the obsessive depths I have taken it to (hello, you are reading this blog). I haven't heard about anyone in my extended family loving show tunes like I do either, but I know at least one of my cousins has been in a play or two, and my uncle used to do theatre when he was younger, as well.

Sutton Foster and her brother, Hunter, have both been on Broadway multiple times. Sutton Foster even has two Tonys under her belt (haha pun) and Hunter has starred in a bunch of things including Hands on a Hardbody, and Ordinary Days. Sutton married and divorced Broadway actor, Christian Borle and then dated another Broadway performer, Bobby Canavale. When Sutton was younger she performed in the same children’s troupe with actor siblings Celia Keenan-Bolger and Andrew Keenan-Bolger, and now playwright sister MaggieKeenan-Bolger. Celia Keenan-Bolger played one of the most complex children roles ever created (albeit at 27) in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and raised the roof in “The I Love You Song” which is arguably one of the most gut-wrenching songs in musical theatre history.

These examples are just a drop in the bucket of performing families. I think the real legacies lie in some of the composing lineages. One of my favorites is that of Richard Rodgers (of Rodgers & Hammerstein fame) was the father of Mary Rodgers, who wrote the music for the classic Once Upon a Mattress, and she is the mother of Adam Guttel, the composer of Light In The Piazza (for which he won two Tony Awards, for Best Score and Best Orchestrations in 20015) among several other great works, including Floyd Collins.

Here’s a fun fact, Celia Keenan-Bolger was originally cast as Clara in Light in the Piazza, but was replaced by Kelli O’Hara for the Broadway opening. She then went on to do Spelling Bee, which got her a Tony nomination, against Kelli O’Hara in 2005 for that same show. They both, however, lost to now TV famous actor Sara Ramirez for her stunning performance As The Lady Of The Lake in Monty Python’s Spamalot!

In another fun legacy related anecdote, Oscar Hammerstein gave guidance and advice to a young Stephen Sondheim. Sondheim became friends with Oscar’s son, Jimmy, and spent a lot of time at the Hammerstein residence, and Oscar took him under his wing, and taught him about the industry help develop Sondheim’s love of musical theatre.

Do you think family, and legacy has a bigger impact on talent, or on industry?

Playing Favorites

The idea of playing favorites has always baffled me. When people find out that I really like show tunes, and Broadway, a lot of times they ask me what my all-time favorite show is. Which… how do you answer that? I can't even say which movie is my favorite… or which pair of shoes I love more than any other. I don’t play favorites well.

There are a lot of things that I could throw down as high on my list. One of my favorite songs from a musical I really like to listen to, and is timeless is Aquarius, from the American Tribal Love Rock Musical: Hair. To be clear, the 2009 Revival with Sasha Allen singing the opening solo is what makes me the happiest! I also really like to hear Heather Headley sing “Shadowlands” from the Lion King, and Sherie Renee Scott belt her face off in “Strongest Suit” if I feel like dancing around in my underwear.

There are several Broadway stars that I really like to listen to, and fawn over. I think Sutton Foster is pretty high up on the list. Her body of work is chock full of shows that hold a special place for me. I was in a production of thoroughly modern Millie, I am obsessed with the song “I Know it’s today” from Shrek:  the musical”, The Drowsy Chaperone was one of the first shows I saw on Broadway (with her still staring as Janet) and Little Women was a cast album that I was able to bond with some of my closest friends over.

Kerry Butler also falls in the same category with Sutton Foster for the body of work she has created is shows that I really enjoy. The original Broadway cast of Hairspray is one that I really enjoy, and her as Penny really makes me laugh, and I love her take on Kira in the cast album of Xanadu, and I have already mentioned how much I love Little Shop of Horrors, with her as Audrey. She recently did “Catch Me If You Can” which I recently discovered I really enjoy. She is a Broadway Treasure.

Sometimes I really just like to listen to a cast album from front to back, and those I guess go high up on my, for lack of a better term, favorites lists. Composer Frank Wildhorn wrote some truly stunning music for Bonnie & Clyde, starring Laura Osnes, and Jeremy Jordan. A go-to for me that I like to listen to if I am feeling melancholy, and don't want to be cheered up is ‘bare: a pop opera’ which is just so desperately sad, but I love so much of the music, and I love the performances by that studio cast. I have seen that show performed 3 times on stage, now… It makes me cry every single time. I also really like the structure and performances of Sherie Renee Scott and Norbert Leo Butz in Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years. In the Heights was such a revelation of Hip-Hop and Latin infused music that I love to just put that cast album on and sing my heart out, and dance my face off, plus Lin-Manuel Miranda is notorious for being the nicest guy on Broadway, and I love that. I also really like listening to 2010 Pulitzer Prize winning drama Next to Normal. The heart-break and emotional maturity in that piece of musical theatre will always make me sit down and listen.

Composers will also get in my head and I will shuffle through some songs from Jeanine Tesori’s work with Fun Home, Shrek, Thoroughly Modern Millie, or Caroline or Change. Jason Robert Brown has some great shows with the previously mentioned The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World and also getting familiar with his new work on Bridges of Madison County, and Honeymoon in Vegas. I have largely stayed away from his musical 13. I don’t know why, but I just don’t like it.

Stephen Sondheim’s work is something I can always fall into. Company, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods and Assassins are probably the shows I am most familiar with, and always try to listen to some tracks every month. They make me think, especially with some of the odd musical passages, and intricate lyrics patterns. I have never gotten super into Sunday in the Park with George, Merrily We Roll Along, Passions, Bounce, or Follies. I have seen and enjoy Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum but have found it's not easy to just dive into, personally.

I hate to say this but my vocal ensemble did a Sondheim show right before I joined the group, and I missed singing in it, and also in singing the material they covered and I will always lament that fact

I did, however, have the great joy of directing Into the Woods this past year, so I think that by default that show is really high on my list of shows I love, and maybe might qualify as an actual favorite just because of how intimately well I know it.

There are also several shows that I have been part of that I like to listen to, like All Shook Up. What a FUN score, I miss singing with that cast. Also Cabaret is another show that I love to listen to, and even though the memories of that show in particular were so bittersweet because of my personal life, that show was such a beacon of light for me. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was the last musical I did in Northern California before I left, so there are lots of great feelings tied to that show. Annie, which a lot of people don't like on principal, was a fantastic show to be in the chorus for. I played so many different characters!

So I don’t play favorites… I play everythings. I love the different emotions that story driven songs bring out in me, I love different interpretations of different casts for the same show, and I love how certain performers will bring you to a different place every time they sing. I love to find similarities in pieces when a composer writes a different show.

Do you have a favorite? Is it easier for you to throw down the gauntlet in what is the best, to you?

Obscure Musical Theatre

I started listening to musical theatre singer-songwriters after a friend gave me a ride home once and he was playing a song that I could not get out of my head. I text him about an hour after he dropped me off and got the song information

Two Strangers - Matt Doyle, Morgan Karr, and Jay Armstrong Johnson.

I was immediately excited because I knew of Matt Doyle from the studio cast recording of ‘bare: a pop opera’ and I just loved his voice.

I looked up, and downloaded the album ‘Our First Mistake’ which is the first album from composers Kerrigan and Lowdermilk. I was so smitten with this album, and the idea behind what this was. An album compiled of songs that are loosely related (or from a sort-of show or shows they had maybe written) and sung by pop singers, and musical theater performers alike.

I started really enjoying how this grouping of styles showcased new composer(s) like Pasek & Paul, Drew Gasparini, Joe Iconis, Scott Alan and Ryan Scott Oliver as well as up and coming stars like Michael Arden, Lindsay Mendez, Laura Osnes, Natalie Weiss, and Katie Thompson. I never would have known who any of these people were if it were for albums like Kerrigan-Lowdermilk LIVE, 35mm The Musical, and I Could Use a Drink.

I got to listen as Lindsay Mendez jumped into Dogfight, that had critical acclaim, though not a ton of success off Broadway and then go on to play Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway for the 10 year anniversary, and Katie Thompson end up singing in John LaChiusa’s adaptation of the 1952 Novel (and somewhat of the 1956 film) Giant. I actually got to see Jay Armstrong Johnson in The Last Goodbye at the Old Gobe in San Diego, which was Romeo and Juliet set to a Jeff Buckley score.

I love these small seemingly random and fairly obscure things become something to take notice of. all of the talent in the world is getting documented and you can have a front row seat.

Some more fun facts: Pasek & Paul wrote some of the music for Smash on NBC, and were nominated for a Tony for the score of the musical adaptation of A Christmas Story.

Joe Iconis wrote one of the most famous songs in Smash, “Broadway Here I Come” and rumor has it that this song is actually about suicide.

Lindsay Mendez was in the cast of Grease that was featured on the NBC reality show, “You’re the One That I Want” playing Jan. 

The person who won the role of Sandy was Laura Osnes, who is featured on a lot of the albums I just mentioned. She sings a song by Scott Alan called ‘Now’ that breaks my heart every single time I listen to it. 

Jonathan Groff sings the Male version of it on a different Scott Alan album, and I literally cried the first time I heard it. 

I #fanboy very hard for both Jonathan and Laura. I want to be friends with them.

Are you a fan of some obscure musicals? How about some fringe composers? Where would these singers and composers be today without social media and youtube?

Dark Musicals and Kerry Butler

I sing in a vocal ensemble that deals in predominantly singing musical theatre. It’s one of the reasons i joined the group. I love choral singing and I love musical theatre.

Throughout the 2 and a half years that I have been involved with the group, we have hit a lot of music I love, and music that i like, and music I’m not so crazy about.

In the fall of 2013 we did a Halloween show, and all of our music focused on some creepy, dark, music. This was a really good learning show for me. There were some things that I knew really well, like Wicked, and some things I only had a vague grasp of, like Batboy: The Musical.

One of the catchiest songs that I had the pleasure of singing was “Cabin in the Woods” from the musical ‘Evil Dead: the Musical’. Evil Dead is based on the 1981 cult classic starring Bruce Campbell. I cant claim to be a connoisseur of cult films, unfortunately that will have to be another blog, but the musical, is super fun! That number will still get stuck in my head. Its that catchy! The show itself was actually never on Broadway, but has had a great life after its Off-Broadway run at New World Stages. There has been tons of semi-professional, and amateur performances all over North America, and even a tour.

I was actually surprised at how much Batboy: the Musical did not do anything for me. I know the local college in my hometown did it and other than that I had heard of this show a few times while being in and around community theatre and the insane premise of a Weekly World News article being turned into a stage musical just doesn't go unnoticed.

We sang “Hold Me, Batboy” which is a good opening for the show, there’s lots of exposition in it, lots of good belty one liners. The music and lyrics are even written by a favorite of mine, Laurence O’Keefe, who is also known for an ABSOLUTE favorite of mine: Legally Blonde: the Musical, as well as the brand new, not so well received off-Broadway show Heathers: The Musical (I have only heard a few numbers from this, and I liked them)

I should remain fully transparent in the fact that I have still yet to see full productions of Batboy: the Musical, and Evil Dead: the Musical. I'm sure my opinion may change if I see it as the producers intend.

One of the best things that came out of the Halloween show was we did two numbers from Little Shop of Horrors, "Suddenly Seymour" and "Don't Feed the Plants". 

What a fun musical. 

I had the pleasure of Assistant Directing that show, and learning how to run a sound board come show time for it as well. I almost had to go on for Seymour once when our actor got stuck in Missouri, but we had cancelled the show instead, so I am very intimately familiar with that show.

Most people are familiar with the 1986 B-Movie starring Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene, (and a then rising comedic superstar Steve Martin as the sadistic dentist, Orin Scrivello) which, is in its own right, a fantastic musical film. It also stars Tisha Campbell (of Martin fame) as Chiffon, one of the Street Urchins, and probably my favorite part in the musical. 

I want to loop back to Batboy, in that Kerry Butler played Shelly in Batboy, and she played Audrey in the 2003 revival of Little Shop of Horrors (my personal favorite version), playing opposite Hunter Foster. 

I love Kerry Butler, she is one of my favorite performers, and she will come up a lot on this blog! Also, Hunter Foster is the brother to another Broadway powerhouse: Sutton Foster. #fangirling

I also CAN'T NOT (love me a double negative) mention the recent Encores! Revival of Little Shop of Horrors, which brought back the original (off-Broadway, and film) Audrey, Ellen Greene, as well as Jake frickin’ Gyllenhaal as Seymour and another rising comedic superstar, Taran Killam of SNL fame as Orin. I have read in many articles and fan postings that the show was superb.

What about you? Are you a fan of Little Shop of Horrors? Do you enjoy darker musical theatre? Let me know!

Another Openin': An Introduction

When I was 16 I was asked, and very aggressively suggested, to audition for the spring musical at my high school. I had been singing in the choir for several years, and my choir conductor needed tenors (and male bodies) to audition for the spring show.

That’s when the bug bit me. Yes, the performing bug, which… I’ll get into later, but this was a slowly growing tumor, as opposed to the zealous fever that comes with wanting to show-off in front of an audience.

I fell in love with theatre, and more importantly musical theatre, and I wanted to know more.

I was fairly small when my mom would introduce us to some of the Musical Theatre classics on film. I really only remember watching and loving West Side Story. I kind of remember watching some of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classics (Oklahoma, Carousel, Sound of Music, etc)


I even KIND of remember My Fair Lady, but I really remember West Side Story. It had to be the dancing. Also Russ Tamblyn…

I remember when I got cast in Once Upon a Mattress, and I wanted to find out more information about the show, this was back in the days before Google had the power it does now, and before Wikipedia, and LONG before IBDB.com, and I just wanted to know what I was getting myself into. 

I went to the local Tower Records, because exhaustive searches of Target, and Walmart were useless in trying to find ANY cast album, let alone one from 1959, and I eventually found it! Well, I thought I had found it and would later find out it was the revival cast album starring Sarah Jessica Parker. I was excited, though, because I knew who she was, and I heard of Jane Krakowski, who I thought was the mom in Malcolm in the middle (that would be Jane Kaczmarek).

I was CONVINCED that I had found the exact replica of what we were going to be performing, and listened to my little CD, and loved the music, and then got to my first rehearsal and found that almost EVERYTHING on the album was different then the script and score we were handed.

Distraught, I talked to my vocal director/choir conductor and she told me about the original cast album (starring the amazing Carol Burnett) and that it would be tough to find, and that she would burn a copy of it for me.

Chatting with her about theatre, performing, and show tunes was one of the highlights of performing in high school for me. Later, during my senior year of high school we did Anything Goes, and she once again was a wealth of knowledge about the 1962 production (which is what we would be performing), and the revival (starring Pattil LuPone) and would give me her opinions about things, and what she likes, and helped me foster my own opinions about things. 

The differences between those 2 revivals are vast as well, and also the television special with Ethel Merman and Bing Crosby that a friend of mine found as well. I remember going over to her house and watching it and pointing out the differences, and later obsessing all of those differences.

From then on, I started doing community theatre, and making friends who had the same passions. They would teach me, and we would discover new things together. It was always such a lovely time.

We would talk about themes of shows, then that would start a conversation about a composer, and then the Ingenue whose career was launched, and her body of work, and that choreographer... it would go on and on, and there was always something to talk about. Then and now, that knowledge gives me so much comfort.

Plus its just so fun to perform!

What about you? What introduced you to Musical Theatre?