Quick Update

Hi! So, I am working on something really exciting! Its actually not that big of a deal, but its something I have wanted to do since I started this blog (like... a month ago?) and I hope to make it more of a regular thing!

Anywho... just wanted to mention that!

the MAGIC that is the internet: Dream Girls edition

I'm just really excited right now! I have had the DreamGirls live in concert video from youtube pinned for a long time, and keep meaning to watch it. I mean look at this cast!! (i just gonna highlight the people I know and love)

Cast (in order of appearance)
M.C.: Lee Summers
Stepp Sisters: Rosa Curry, Kyra Little DaCosta, Kena Dorsey, Diedre Goodwin
Marty: James Stovall
Charlene: Aisha de Haas
Joann: Adrienne Lennox
Curtis Taylor, Jr.: Norm Lewis
Deena Jones: Audra McDonald
Tiny Joe Dixon: Adrian Bailey
Lorrell Robinson: Heather Headley
C.C. (Claridge Conrad) White: Darius de Haas
Effie Melody White: Lillias White

Little Albert and The Tru-Tones: Tomé Cousin, Bernard Dotson, Andre Garner, Dennis Stowe, Richard Waits
Jimmy (James “Thunder”) Early: Billy Porter
Towel Girl: Brandi Chavonne Massey
Wayne: Bobby Daye
Dave: Paul Castree
Sweethearts: Alice Ripley, Emily Skinner
Frank/Security Guard: Eric Woodall
Michelle Morris: Tamara Tunie
Jerry Norman: Brian Stokes Mitchell
The Five Tuxedos: Bernard Dotson, André Garner, Tomé Cousin, Dennis Stowe, Richard Waits
Les Styles: Aisha de Haas, Montego Glover, Adrienne Lennox, Brandi Chavonne Massey
Dwight/Stage Manager: John Bolton
Film Executives: Malcolm Gets, Brad Oscar, Patrick Wilson
Mr. Morgan: Lee Summers
Photographer: Orfeh
Christopher F. Davis: Philip Michael Baskerville
Steppin’/Vegas Dancers: Angelo Fraboni, Steve Geary, Edgar Godineaux, James Harkness, Derric Harris, Denis Jones, Darren Lee, T. Oliver Reid
Singers: Shoshana Bean, David Benoit, John Bolton, Paul Castree, Kate Coffman-Lloyd, Adam Hunter, Audrey Klinger, Jason Opshal, Orfeh, Sara Ramirez, Ric Ryder, Alan Souza, Virginia Woodruff
Announcers: E. Lynn Harris, Bernard Dotson, André Garner, Tomé Cousin, Dennis Stowe, Richard Waits

And those are just the folks I am fangirling over. The cast is just phenomenal, honestly! I could not find time to sit down and watch it, though. I am really excited that the entire thing is on Spotify, though!

What luck! I have been having a GREAT day listening to it. So good!

Theme Parties? NO! Theme Choral Performances

One thing that I find so immensely satisfying about the group that I sing with is the “research of themes” element. Most of our shows, and even our smaller cabaret shows have an overall through line to them.

When I joined the ensemble we did “showtoons” which played on animation and toons that were on stage. So we explored music from The Lion King, Pete’s Dragon, Ave Q, and huge swaths of Disney Musicals. Princes and Princesses got their own medleys as well as a medley of TV show theme songs. It was SO. MUCH. FUN. To think about these songs, and be reminded of some great things in my past.

We also rummaged through some darker music with a Halloween show. Songs from Wicked, and the Secret Garden, and as mentioned before Batboy. It was such a great way to celebrate the holiday in such a unique way. Looking through scores, and accessing our knowledge of music and theatre to come up with a full show was really fun, and it was one of the first times I was involved in helping with the production. 

Honestly though, the best thing we did wasn’t even from a musical. A haunting contemporary choral piece that Eric Whitacre wrote and had performed by A VIRTUAL CHOIR takes the cake for the most satisfying choral experiences ever.

But I digress, this blog is about Musicals!! One of the most challenging shows that we did was a time travel show. It was literally  musicals from all over periods of time. Researching that show was so hard. There is SO MUCH MUSIC. We limited ourselves by looking for music that had some sort of anthem-like quality. ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” and “Til We Reach That Day” came to mind, quickly followed by songs that spoke to a period in time “All That Jazz”, “Here Alone”, and “You Can’t Stop The Beat” all were really fun additions to the piece. We really felt it rounded itself out.

Going forward in our future we constantly look at themes and question whether of not that it would work for us. Do those themes have a wide array of music? If you want to theme a show with ‘Sports’ you have very small amounts of things to choose from. There’s a number in 'You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown' about baseball, a number in Best Little Whorehouse in Texas about Football (sort of… its more about football players having sex… but that’s a sport too) and then there is a show like Damn Yankees, which surprisingly only has a few numbers about actual baseball.

Something that is broad and specific at the same time, and something I would love to explore is going around the world with music. There is so much stuff set around the world: Argentina and Evita, India and Bombay Dreams. The Book of Mormon and Uganda/Africa is a bit of a stretch, but some GREAT music or maybe Tarzan. There are a ton of things set in Asia. Unfortunately, large swaths of theatre dealing with Asian culture are pretty offensive (cough, cough The King and I cough). Miss Saigon, and Pacific Overtures (SONDHEIM!) are great source material.

Not to mention huge expanses of Europe, Brigadoon, Mamma Mia (I mean, not really… but GREECE), Light In The Piazza, Fiddler On The Roof, Chess, Mary Poppins, Camelot

I also think that religious shows could go in here too, and explore Judaism with Yentl, and Puritanical Christianity in Spring Awakening, at the risk of sounding redundant Mormonism with Book of Mormon

I like that there is a lot to choose from, but can be confined. It can also be taken apart if you have too much music. Like, for example, it’s easy to actually omit Tarzan and Mamma Mia because the music in those shows don’t really reflect the culture of the place its set (the jungles of Africa, or Greece, respectively). The best part of this entire ordeal is the discussion. The people that I can sit at a table with, and over a bottle of wine hash out what would be a good show, with good music, that is entertaining. It’s so thrilling.

Love Being in Good Company

The vocal ensemble that I sing with is gonna be performing a choral arrangement of 'Transylvania Mania' from Young Frankenstein: The Musical.

I'm personally really excited to sing this song. its going to be really fun!

One of my favorite people posted this screen shot from Parks & Rec on a page that members from our group have access to...

Which, is A) Hilarious writing to begin with, and B) an explanation of a lyric that is mentioned in the actual song.

"Everybody's out there doing it, millionaire and schlemiel"

After the original post of the screen shot, a friend, and fellow member posted this comment:

"I love that you used a quote from Nick Offerman, who is married to Megan Mullaly, who was in the original Broadway cast of Young Frankenstein which features... Wait for it... TRANSYLVANIA MANIA."

YES! I wanted to post that EXACT information! I love that I surround myself with people who are obsessive about the Musical Theatre trivia as I am! I just wanted to share how wonderful my friends are!

On a more more bragg-y note.. I saw Young Frankenstein the Musical in its pre-broadway run in Seattle. It was an awfully long trip for a very high gloss production. It wasn't the best ever, however, there was some fun music (Transylvania Mania being the highlight) and also to see such wonderful talents. Sutton Foster, was the absolute highlight.

Do you like to surround yourself with like minded people? what shows did you get to see before a "hit" or a "flop" made it to the great white way?

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!