Every fourth Wednesday of the month, the “VIP Access” column will serve up advice on how to make your theater-going experiences cheaper, easier and more fulfilling with inside scoop from the experts. This month, we’re taking you behind the curtain of one of the most unusual aspects of the Tony Awards…

The Tony Award. Image via Google.

All the talk about the Academy Awards this week got me thinking; I know how people get nominated for the Oscars, but who decides the nominees for Broadway’s Tony Awards?

Unlike the large bodies that determine the Oscar and Emmy nominations, the Tony Nominating Committee turns out to be a very select (i.e. shockingly small) group of theater professionals who serve overlapping three-year terms and are required to see every Broadway show each year, then vote by secret ballot for their choices. Chosen by the Awards administrators, the panel is made up of people reflecting a wide range of theatrical disciplines.

Although the 2011-2012 panel was initially announced as a 35 member committee, as of January 12, the committee is down to 28 members (one assumes due to a schedule change keeping them from seeing all shows or a large conflict of interest that forces them to recuse themselves.) And who are these very influential people with the power to change careers? Let’s take a look at the list [I'll toss in some insider dish or random thoughts about a few of them in brackets]: Read more…

Bradford Louryk. Photo by Aaron Epstein.

Are you ready for this Sunday’s Academy Awards telecast? (I’d call it the gay Super Bowl but after Madonna’s halftime show and the Beckham underwear ads, this year’s actual Superbowl felt like a happy hour in Hells Kitchen.) Those with a theatrical bent and a love of camp can warm up for Hollywood’s big night with You Like Me: An Evening of Classic Acceptance Speeches at Ars Nova, February 25.

Created by Rachel Shukert and Michael Shulman, the annual event features a host of New York underground talent (Kenny Mellman of Kiki & Herb, Michael Musto, the bedazzled Varsity Interpretive Dancers) doing readings of famous–and infamous– EGOT speeches. Somehow, the performances are less cruel celebrity impersonations and more alternate universe reinterpretations that reveal the delicious train wreck combo of excitement, ego and terror beneath the best/worst acceptance speeches. (Face it, we all might implode if we had to speak on stage in front of a billion television viewers.) This year, I’m particularly excited about Drama Desk Winner Bradford Louryk‘s promised take on Melissa Leo’s profanity laden Oscar win for Best Supporting Actress.)

For us theater lovers, check out video clips from a past edition of You Like Me featuring a trio of Broadway divas going wonderfully off the rails during their big moments: Read more…

William Shatner in "Shatner's World". Photo by Joan Marcus.

Within the last seven days, I saw Moby Dick sing, a Prom Queen blow up a gym and Captain Kirk take a bow on Broadway. If that isn’t the strangest week of theater I’ve ever experienced, then I’ve clearly repressed the memories of a weirder seven day span to protect my delicate psyche.

In honor of the decidedly odd (though certainly worthwhile in some cases) trio of works, let’s jump to some quick mini-reviews and thoughts:

Shatner’s World – We Just Live In It: The bombastic, Emmy-winning star of Star Trek and Boston Legal takes to the stage for a one-man show about his life and career. If you’re expecting a well-constructed play featuring carefully enacted remembrances, well–really? No, William Shatner is content to step into the spotlight and entertainingly ramble through stories like a dinner party guest who has had an extra cocktail or two. Funny thing is, once you’ve accepted the ramshackle nature of the evening, it’s quite amusing. I’m not a Trekkie and yet darned if I didn’t find Shatner charming, self-depricating and the best kind of ham–well-seasoned and never canned. He wanders and improvs and sings and tells hoary jokes with an impish glee that is infectious. In fact, his childhood love of vaudeville comics turns out to be a “rosebud” key to understanding his bigger than life, irrepressible persona. In the end after he has ever so glancingly touched on more serious matters of life and death, he imparts a world view that is both simple, illuminating and touching. Why does Shatner have a show on Broadway? Because he said “yes,” because he has always said “why the hell not!” And, for that, it’s hard not to love the guy. Read more…

Every third Wednesday, a fabulous actor/singer/dancer will fill out my nosey little questionnaire and offer a glimpse of what they look like from a bit closer than the mezzanine. For February, we’ve been hit by cupid’s arrow…

Photo by Thomas Synnamon.

Name: Sam J. Cahn

Hometown: Bellevue, WA

Current Show/Role: Memphis / Ensemble

The best part of the show I’m in now is: Goofing off in the dressing room with the boys!! Seriously, it’s the opening number, ‘Underground.’ We get the show started right….DOWN and DIRTY!!

The most challenging job in show business I ever had was: The most challenging AND rewarding job thus far was Celine Dion’s A New Day. The choreography was physically AND technically very demanding….especially on a raked stage. Lots of chest beating! Aside from the physical challenges, being onstage with 49 other dancers while Celine is wailing is an indescribable feeling…nothing yet has compared.

If I wasn’t an actor, I would be: I’d be working in the sports medicine field. Anything from personal training to orthopedics. I love learning about how the body works. The bodies needs, limitations, and possibilities are all fascinating to me.

The best post-show cocktail in town is at: Well, I’m a huge Wine-o. Sosa Borella always provides a quiet, warm and relaxing environment for a post-show Chardonnay.

After you’ve hit all the traditional sites of New York City, you should totally go to: The Cloisters. It’s the perfect feeling of being home yet far away from it all. There’s such a peaceful energy….time seems to stand still, which allows me to re-invest in my thoughts without constant distraction. Read more…

The passing of pop music superstar Whitney Houston was a sad loss for everyone, including members of the Broadway community. Two-time Tony nominee Gavin Creel (Hair) posted this song on YouTube and it struck a chord. Here’s how Creel explains the positive influence Whitney Houston had on his life: :

She was my absolute favorite singer growing up, and I used to be made fun of for that. In 1987, an 11-year-old boy was supposed to have pictures of cars or baseball players on his bedroom wall…not a huge poster of Whitney Houston. Last summer while I was writing songs for my next record, I kept hearing about all these young boys who were getting pushed around, like I had been, for liking things ‘boys weren’t supposed to like,’ but I was also hearing that some of those boys decided life wasn’t worth living anymore.

I wanted to write a song to tell those kids about the woman who helped me through my tough time as a fruity little dude… about the woman who sang me through those crap junior high school years…a song about the music that made me feel happier, fuller, better. And, as I wrote it, I dreamt of getting to play it for her one day.

I never in a million years thought we would get the news we got yesterday. I just can’t believe it. It’s so heartbreakingly tragic that someone so iconic and inspiring to so many, was also so tortured.

We wrote and recorded this song last year to honor Whitney. I hope now it can serve as my own tribute to her memory.

I was a fruity little dude, too. I knew every word of “How Will I Know” and had mastered the choreography in the video. So, when the Princess of Pop covered “I Know Him So Well” from the musical Chess on her second album, it made me feel like maybe even my music theater loving side could be cool, too. How could show tunes be bad if Whitney loved them?

So, thank you, Whitney. Here’s a video of her performing that song with her mother, Cissy Houston:

Read more…

Linda Lavin. Image via PlaybillVault.com.

NYC’s fizziest variety show celebrates another year of jazzy stars and Broadway voices with The Best of Jim Caruso’s Cast Party, a benefit for The Actors Fund at Town Hall, Thursday the 23rd. Check out just some of the performers scheduled to appear: Stephanie J. Block (Wicked), wicked insult comic Lisa Lampanelli, friend of the Broadway Blog Julia Murney (Queen of the Mist), founding member of The Manhattan Transfer Janis Siegel, the dreamy Paul Szot (South Pacific) and of course your host, the ever-dapper Jim Caruso.

But topping the list for me is the one and only Linda Lavin. Sure she’s a Tony-winner who has given incredible stage performances in Other Desert Cities, The Tale of the Alergist’s Wife and Broadway Bound, but to this child of television, she’ll always be my Alice. Just seeing her name conjures images of shaggy Philip McKeon hair and kissed grits. What I’d forgotten, was how much singing Lavin did on the classic sitcom, her character’s dream to be a club singer providing ample opportunity for Lavin to show off her diverse talents (and for the little show queen in training to get a taste of Broadway supper club style.)

I knew I had to find an example from the show, however, nothing prepared me for the following clip. Seriously, you may want to sit down and not drink anything for fear of a huge spit take. In the Season 8 episode “Over the Hill Girls”, Alice and diner owner Mel’s mother (played by the legendary Martha Raye) are passed over for a nightclub singing gig because they are seen as too old. They decide to show everybody they’ve still got it with a number of their own. Cut to 6:55 and, well, prepare yourself…

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Josh Young in "Jesus Christ Superstar". Photo by David Hou.

A quick round-up of the weeks theater headlines:

• Want tickets to a “secret” performance by the cast of the upcoming revival of Jesus Christ Superstar? “Like” their Facebook page by Monday and you can be entered to win passes to the special event as well as tickets to the show.

• Need another reason to see Audra McDonald’s bravura performance in The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess? Buy tickets to the February 21st performance through givenik.com, send your confirmation number to RSVP@givenik.com and you’ll be invited to a special post-show cast party at B. Smith’s, supporting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

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  Condola Rashad & Mekhi Phifer in "Stick Fly". Photo by Richard Termine.

  The multiplex to Main Stem fast lane continues to hum with the announcement of a Broadway bound adaptation of Honeymoon in Vegas, with music and lyrics by Tony Award-winner Jason Robert Brown (Parade) and book by Andrew Bergman (director and screenwriter of the original film which starred Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker).

• Playbill.com is reporting that the cast of Les Miserables will be singing live on sound stages and not lip-synching to pre-recorded tracks, at least for a portion of the film adaptation directed by Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech).

• Stick Fly, the well-reviewed family drama presented by singer Alicia Keys, announced it will be closing Sunday, February 26 following 24 previews and 92 regular performances on Broadway.

• Setting to rest any of the “will it or won’t it” drama of last week, the producers of the Pulitzer-winning Clybourne Park announced an official schedule, beginning previews March 26 and opening April 19.

Celia Keenan-Bolger, Colin Donnell & Lin Manuel Miranda. Photo by Peter Cunningham.

At opening night of the City Center Encores presentation of Merrily We Roll Along, a man two seats away from me was weeping, full on Terms of Endearment sobs. It wasn’t the end of the show, when the infamous “told in reverse” musical winds its way back to the innocent beginnings of a trio of old friends (who earlier in the show/later in chronology had been torn apart.) It wasn’t at the emotional climax of one of Stephen Sondheim’s gorgeously emotional and savvily show-biz songs detailing the travails of growing up and making compromises. It wasn’t even as the overture began with a brassy strut, tears brought on by the thrill of a big Broadway band. No, he was crying no more than a phrase into “Not a Day Goes By,” the oft belted at concerts (see videos below) dramatic show piece sung by a betrayed wife outside her divorce hearing.

The thing is, though Betsy Wolfe sang it beautifully and with admirable restraint, the song hadn’t really gotten going yet. There was nothing to cry about on stage. This sniffling man was crying at the idea of the show, the show that he had built in his head after years of listening to each version of its amazing score or reading each new edit of its difficult to wrangle book by George Furth. He was enjoying Merrily, but not the one on the stage.

What is on stage is fine (and at times thrilling) but still searching to meet the perfection that seems to exist in much of the audience’s imagination. The score remains a rich, affecting blast of show tune heaven, densely packed with truth that rocks you as you age into and regretfully recognize yourself in the characters. The book feels clearer than other drafts, though revelations of “oh, that’s why that happened” click into place with a loud, slightly distracting metaphoric snap.  The actors playing the central trio work mightily to stay atop the backward rush of events (and the limited rehearsal time), with Colin Donnell fitting most comfortably into Sondheim’s musical world and Celia Keenan-Bolger making the most of her character’s overlooked “gal pal” one liners. Perhaps because they don’t have to shoulder the weight of the reverse arc, the two supporting female performances are dynamite; Betsy Wolfe and Elizabeth Stanley offer sugar and spice contrasting visions of wronged wives, Wolfe sweetly real and Stanley boldly playing to the rafters.

In the end, though, this production is a thought-provoking show that never quite works its way into your heart. The “perfect” version will always remain just over the horizon or tucked away in a private place. And come to think of it that seems, well, perfect for a show about the illusions we cling to and the lies we tell ourselves as we age.

Curious why this show has such a mystique? Just watch these diva-rific versions of “Not a Day Goes By”…

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Bernadette. Patti. Some Broadway performers don’t need a last name. But what about amazing theater talents that never get that kind of widespread, iconic acclaim? In a new column, I’ve invited friends of the Broadway Blog to write about the stars that they love who deserve a little extra applause. Looking at their lives, great roles and video clips, it’s a Theatrical 101 that will hopefully give you some new divas to worship. First up, actor and music theatre addict Andrew Glaszek (also known as the man who helps me find our Theater Buffs, so he basically deserves sainthood) shares his love for a truly singular actress…

Lynne Thigpen. Image via PlaybillVault.com.

To its credit, Hollywood ain’t dumb… it can recognize a good thing and has a history of putting our favorite Broadway Babies to work, but not all get the One Day At A Time (Bonnie Franklin, Applause) or Gimme A Break (Nell Carter, Ain’t Misbehavin’) treatment or the current Smash build up that is putting the name Megan Hilty on everyone’s screen. I’ve always gotten a kick from knowing the theatrical pedigree of sitcom stars (ie. Megan Mullally, Beth Howland, Florence Henderson, et al.) or the crime scene & court room characters (thank you for keeping Loretta Devine working!) but there’s a small screen actress that has a place in this diva-lovin’ heart… Lynne Thigpen.

Her long list of credits include guest spots and roles on thirtysomething, The Cosby Show,  Roseanne, L.A. Law, Law & Order, All My Children, The District… but many know her best from the after-school schooling that she made entertaining as “Chief” on Where in The World Is Carmen Sandiego. But if you only know her from her TV work, you might be surprised to find out that she had an award-winning, stage career including an LA Drama Critics award for Fences, Obies for Boesman and Lena and Jar the Floor, and a Tony for An American Daughter. And thanks to Gimme A Break! we got to see her sing and dance along with Telma Hopkins and the show’s star, another Broadway belter, Nell Carter (sadly both Ms. Thigpen & Ms. Carter died “before their time” in 2003.) Skip to 4:42 of this clip for their 60’s Medley.

Read more…

Ereni Sevasti in "Jacques Brel Returns". Photo by Dave Krueger.

Jacques Brel Returns, the long-running evening of songs by the beloved Belgian songwriter and chanteur, continues to romance audiences by adding two special February shows at The Triad, Wednesday the 22nd at 7pm and  Valentine’s Day at 9pm.

Now, before you think it’s going to be a night of chocolates and kisses and rose petals, I use the term romance in the old fashioned sense of “mysterious and out of the ordinary”; Brel’s songs create an otherworldly atmosphere populated by sons lost to war and passionate hearts broken. Even when translated from the original French and Dutch into English, there is something foreign and unknowable about these miniature swirling playlets.

This production, with its rotating cast of Broadway regulars and special guests, is certainly no frills: just a piano and a few props. While a number of songs remain stubbornly opaque to my American ear, when the gallic passion builds and the singers give in to the heightened quality of the emotion, it’s hard not to be swept away to a land where war buddies cry in their tankards and people die for love. The performers are all able interpreters of the difficult material; particularly good at the show I saw were Arlo Hill, with the face of a WWI doughboy and the sound of a romantic lead, and Tamra Hayden, brooding and big voiced as she brazenly pushes the tremulous melodrama up to the breaking point (and at times deliciously spilling over).

Here’s video of Ms. Hayden singing “Marieke” during a 2011 performance of Jacques Brel Returns…

Read more…