Photo by Mike Sharkey.

Welcome back, “Carrie” Nation!  With the buzz building for the long-awaited MCC revival/rethinking of everyone’s favorite PROMinent musical (as well as its August 1st sneak peek, Revisiting “Carrie”), we’re going to take an in-depth look at the cast and staff. First up, that bad-a**, mother of them all, Mrs. White. Originally played by the legendary Barbara Cook out of town and the extraordinary Betty Buckley on Broadway, Carrie’s Bible-banging, ballad-belting Mom will be embodied by three-time Tony nominee, Marin Mazzie.

Can I get an “Amen”? With a big, rich voice (that veers toward the classical), the under-appreciated Mazzie has real acting chops but they’ve often been tested in “difficult” but not showy roles. Think of her sexy, conflicted Clara in Passion, having to uphold the third leg of a triangle while kept removed from the action. (You try being seductive while pacing upstage singing letters.) Even more emblematic, she starred as Mother in the original Ragtime, a role that is the true lead of the piece but is often overlooked in the buzz around more “active” characters (as a friend once pointed out to me,  the show is about “a soprano who learns to be a belter”). However, as quiet as the role is as written, Mazzie was the backbone, the audience’s touchstone, the emotional heart of the production, charting Mother’s journey with subtle but unmistakeable intelligence.

Mazzie did get one big, boffo chance to tear up Broadway in the award-winning revival of Kiss Me, Kate opposite Brian Stokes Mitchell. She was a sassy, ballsy terror with a proscenium-smashing theatricality and a true comedienne’s fearlessness that surprised many people who knew her from her quieter roles. It’s this diva boldness mixed with her ability to ease back and be a tool of the greater story that I think makes her the perfect choice for creating a terrifying (but not campy) Mrs. White.

Plus, for all her Earth Mother roles, at times there can be something angular and imposing about her physicality; this lady just might be able to lock someone in a cellar.

Let’s look at a few videos that highlight unexpected corners of Mazzie’s range and show off that gorgeous voice:

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Paris Remillard, Steel Burkhardt, and the cast of Hair. Photo by Joan Marcus.

April showers may have brought May flowers, but June brought the Broadway season to an end with plenty of flare; from the Tony Awards to Spider-Man‘s long-awaited arrival, residents of the mezzanine were on the edge of their crimson seats. Even with summer heating up and shows such as Arcadia and Born Yesterday closing, there will be plenty to see (in the safety of an air-conditioned theater) this month and beyond:

• Hippie nation rejoices as HAIR returns to Broadway for a “Summer of Love” 10-week run. The first hundred at St. James theatre on July 5 will snag some free tickets, and those dressed in their finest hippie garb may even win a role in the show! Get your groove on for the show, running July 13-September 10.

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  Nina Arianda in "Born Yesterday". Photo by Carol Rosegg.

  Broadway meets erotica as Venus in Fur brings seduction, power, love and, most importantly, the return of recent Tony-nominee Nina Arianda to Broadway starting October 13. The New York Times called the off-Broadway production that made Arianda an overnight sensation “90 minutes of good, kinky, fun!” Say no more, we’re in.

• As usual, star power leads the way on stage and even behind the scenes. Grammy-winning pop star Alicia Keys is promoting the Broadway premiere of Stick Fly, a new play about interracial relationships opening December 8. Sex in the City‘s Kim Cattrall transfers her well-received London performance in Private Lives, starting November 17. Plus, we also get Alan Rickman, Audra McDonald and Harry Connick, Jr. back on the Great White Way this fall.

• 2460–what!? Hugh Jackman is officially in as Jean Valjean in the film version of Les Miserables. Boy can sing, so this just might be brilliant and Oscar worthy.

And, finally, here’s a look back at our most popular stories from June:

• A Broadway striptease…what else is there to say! Oh, it was for a good cause!

• Book of Mormon had quite a month, conquering the Tony Awards and joining the Top Billboard Hits List.

• Whether you were more excited about Carey or Carrie, there was good news all around.

• Broadway fans showed they cared by givin’ through Givnik when buying tickets.

• And don’t forget to follow our editor Tom on twitter for breaking news, posting updates and random Broadway fun @broadwayblogtom.

It’s time for another round-up of the week in theater news:

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  Image via Boneau/Bryan-Brown.

  The well-received Kennedy Center production of Follies is moving up the coast to Broadway’s Marquis Theater this summer for a limited engagement. Sightings of stray sequins and feathers on I-95 to follow.

• One Follies Girl who won’t be making the trek is Linda Lavin. Playbill reports that, in order to star in a new show at the Vineyard, she will not reprise her “Broadway Baby” and she is also passing on the Broadway transfer of Other Desert Cities, last season’s Lincoln Center hit. Perhaps those rumors of cast issues were true.

• Attention “Carrie” Nation! The New York Times has word of a one-night-only sneak peek at the upcoming reboot of everyone’s favorite high school horror musical. No word if there will be pig blood involved.

• Nathaniel at the great site Film Experience takes a look at the casting rumors for the film adaptation of Les Miserables. Hugh Jackman, 24601!

• It may not have Hugh, but the Arena Stage production of Oklahoma took DC by (dustbowl) storm last year. Now you can get free tickets to opening night of its return engagement by “liking” their Facebook page.  Hmmm, that sounds familiar…

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Image via Google.

Welcome to the Carrie Nation! No, not the hatchet wielding temperance activist. We’re talking about that infamous all-singing, all-dancing, all-telekinetic, Prom-destroying musical.

New York’s MCC Theater announced that they will be mounting the long-rumored return of Stephen King’s Carrie, the first production since the musical flopped on Broadway in 1988. Featuring significant rewrites by the original writing team, the show will make its “reimagined” premiere January 31, 2012.

Personally, I’m so excited I could flip a car with my mind. Over the next few months, we will count down to the resurrection with inside looks at the cast (Marin Mazzie!), the director (Altar Boys‘ Stafford Arima) and much, much more. And to kick off our coverage, let’s take a quick look at what we hope they keep and what we hope is left to burn in the ruins of the gym.  Cue the video…

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Catch Me If You Can is sleek, sexy and cutting-edge. Well, not the show exactly (though it is certainly slick and entertaining); I’m talking about their new TV commercial. Employing actual special effects, fun camera work and an eye-catching design, the ad signals that the Broadway marketing agencies are finally upping their game, after years (let’s admit it) where show commercials had that “filmed between matinees by the high school AV club” look. Sure, there are still plenty of ads that slap a Ken Burn’s affect on publicity stills (How to Succeed) or fling a camera around the marquee and get audience testimonials (Baby It’s You), but there does seem to be a general turn toward more professional and innovative advertising.

But, just for old time’s sake, let’s look back at a few of my favorite wild and weird Broadway commercials from days gone by. Fire up the VCR…

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Once a month, I’m serving up something every theater lover secretly desires. A time machine and tickets to Carrie: The Musical? Dream on. How about one-on-one time with a stunningly attractive and wildly accomplished Broadway performer? I guess it’ll have to do.

Every third Wednesday (hump day of the hump week), a fabulous actor/singer/dancer currently on Broadway will fill out my nosey little questionnaire and offer a glimpse of what they look like from a bit closer than the mezzanine. And our first Theater Buff is…

Photo: Kevin McDermott

Name: Tom Berklund

Hometown: Middleton, WI

Current Show / Role: The Addams Family / Ancestor

The best part of the show I’m in now is: definitely my cast and crewmates! They make everyday entertaining at the very least.

The worst job in show business I ever had was: in Seoul, attempting to teach five year old Korean kids to dance – it’s a long story.

If I wasn’t an actor, I would be: in the field of psychiatry

White swan or black swan? More of a white swan these days.

The best post-show cocktail in town is at: Last summer I helped open Boxers sports bar on 20^th and 6^th so I’m a little partial.  It’s nice – check it out.

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