When there’s a month with a fifth Wednesday, I’ll be heading Way-Off-Broadway for a look at theatrical happenings outside New York City. This Leap Day, we’re hopping around the country (and across the pond) to find the best spots for Broadway dreaming…

"Kinky Boots" Film Poster. Image via Google.

Mommy, where do musicals come from?

That question used to be easy to answer. “Well, darling, when a bookwriter and composer and lyricist love each other very much, they go to New Haven and try out their baby.” Now, the truth is, musicals are produced through a decidedly less romantic series of non-monogamous readings, staged readings and workshops. The traditional out-of-town tryout is often skipped as too expensive or a waste of a star’s window of availability. But they do still happen, though often in the guise of regional theater productions.

"Metamorphoses". Photo by Joan Marcus.

Over the last week, two major new tuners announced that they will be getting pre-Broadway tryouts in Chicago. Kinky Boots, based on the 2005 British film and scored by pop icon Cyndi Lauper, will play the Bank of America Theater in the Windy City in October.  The following summer, director Mary Zimmerman (Metamorphoses) will bring her adaptation of Disney’s The Jungle Book to Chicago’s premiere regional venue, the Goodman Theatre.

Why Chicago? Certainly it has a very vibrant theater community and an audience that can intelligently support and critique new work. It was the proving ground for two recent Broadway musicals, The Addams Family and Million Dollar Quartet, which may not have been blockbuster critical and commercial successes but they both live on and may recoup their investments through touring or Off-Broadway productions.

However, if I were a producer, I wouldn’t be looking for a city that fields doubles; I’d be looking for somewhere that has a track record of home runs. Is there such a place? Allow me to attempt a very rough, statistically unsound but amusing analysis… Read more…

Anika Larsen in "Myths & Hymns". Photo by Richard Termine.

February’s Most Valuable (Theatrical) Player works hard for the money. Actually, given the Off-Broadway venues she performed in this month, I’m guessing she worked hard for not a lot of money. But, oh, the rewards for the audience!

So let’s give a wildly enthusiastic standing ovation to Anika Larsen for her double duty work in Myths and Hymns (for the Prospect Theater Company) and Disaster! (recently extended at the Triad.) In the former, she plumbed the depths of Adam Guettel’s complex and dramatically intense songs with heartbreaking emotional clarity. Then, after a full week of performances, she spent her Sunday nights scaling the heights of silliness as a nun addicted to gambling and 70′s hits.  Comedy and tragedy, pathos and parody, Larsen handled it all with her serious acting chops (check her resume full of Broadway and touring gigs) and that impeccable and seemingly limitless voice.

Someone get this woman a starring role on Broadway…if she can fit it into her schedule.

After the jump, watch and listen to Anika as she sings “Fine, Fine Line” from her stint in Avenue Q and as she shows off her big belt to Disaster co-writer, Seth Rudetsky.

Read more…

Stockard Channing in "Other Desert Cities". Photo by Joan Marcus.

Celebrities must hate youtube. All it takes is a few clicks and we can see video proof of their most embarrassing moments. (To understand, imagine someone followed you around high school with a camera and then posted it online. Shudder…)

Well, the glorious Stockard Channing, currently giving an award-caliber performance on Broadway in Other Desert Cities, spent 1979 and 1980 in two short-lived television sitcoms (Stockard Channing in Just Friends and The Stockard Channing Show); given her name placement, Ms. Channing had a good agent at the time. Well, at least in terms of contract writing.

Someone has kindly edited together a montage of her “best” moments for the second effort in which she played an investigative reporter, going undercover each week in a new wacky (and often un-PC) disguise. Watch (I recommend skimming lightly) and discover what being in the blockbuster film Grease can do for your career… Read more…

"Priscilla Queen of the Desert ". Photo by Joan Marcus.

Find some room on the proverbial couch because we’ve got some casting news to report:

• Ready to make your Broadway debut? The sashaying folks at Priscilla Queen of the Desert and Ticketmaster are offering a sweet opportunity to win a trip to NYC to meet the cast and dance on stage during the show. Tickets, airfare and hotel are all part of the deal. (You must enter by February 27, so get on it!)

• It’s been long rumored but Meryl Streep will indeed be playing the pill-popping matriarch opposite Julia Roberts in the film version of August: Osage County. Seems a shame that this Pulitzer Prize winning property couldn’t attract any big movie stars.

• 

  Linda Lavin & Kate Jennings Grant in "The Lyons". Photo by Carol Rosegg.

  Remember how I said that this year’s Tony Awards are going to be crazy competitive in the Play categories? It just got more fun. Producers announced that The Lyons, the well-reviewed Off-Broadway play by Nicky Silver, is sneaking on to Broadway just in time to be eligible. Even better, it will make the move with the bravura performance from star Linda Lavin (the subject of our recent adoration); add another actress to the list of contenders including Cynthia Nixon, Nina Arianda, Tyne Daly, Rosemary Harris and many more.

• Two great actresses (and favorites of my youth) have been added to upcoming Broadway productions: the delightful Margaret Colin (Arcadia and As the World Turns!) is joining The Columnist and the criminally under-appreciated Carol Kane will appear in the revival of Harvey. 

• Don’t speak? Well, she’s going to have to when Woody Allen’s brilliant Bullets Over Broadway comes to the Great White Way as a musical next season. Word is that the script is by Mr. Allen himself and it will feature period songs, not original songs…but the important question is whether Dianne Wiest reprise her Oscar winning role?

• You’ve got to love passionate fans. One such admirer has launched a Facebook campaign titled “5,000,000 Strong for Christine Ebersole as The Witch in Into the Woods”. There are only a handful of folks who’ve signed up for it so far but, you know what, it ain’t a bad bit of casting for the upcoming production at the Delacorte Theater. Power to the people!

"Love Never Dies". Photo by Jeff Busby.

Get ready for more music of the night–just not on Broadway. Love Never Dies, the sequel to Andrew Lloyd Weber’s smash musical The Phantom of the Opera (which celebrated its 10,000th performance this month), will finally hit the US but only at movie theaters on Tuesday, February 28 and Wednesday, March 7. After scathing reviews in London halted a scheduled Broadway production (Coney Island? The Phantom ends up in Coney Island?), a revised version opened in Melbourne, Australia to some acclaim, renewing hope for fans that the show might rise from the ashes. For now, though, Phantom lovers will have to make do with a filmed performance from Down Under.

Check out the preview for the DVD release of Love Never Dies and some sneak peeks at songs in a “opening night” video: Read more…

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…