Rebecca Luker and Michael Siberry in "Death Takes a Holiday". Photo by Joan Marcus.

Early in the second act of the new musical Death Takes a Holiday, the serene matriarch of an aristocratic Italian family gazes into a mirror, but instead of looking admiringly at herself, she sees what is missing: the son she lost in The Great War. Singing “Losing Roberto” with intricate detail but unshowy fragility, like a lovingly worked piece of lace, three-time Tony-nominee Rebecca Luker provides the undisputed musical and emotional highlight of the evening…and she accomplishes this without once raising her voice in roof rattling emotion.

Luker’s career has been a string of such performances, musically peerless yet never diva cries for attention. From her rise in The Secret Garden and Show Boat to her tenure as the golden-noted soprano of classic revivals like The Music Man, she trusts in her floating, flawlessly controlled soprano, her unusual mixture of regal yet homespun beauty and her sensitivity as an actress to bring the audience to her.

Seeing Luker, even in a smaller supporting role, reminded me that she was one of the first Broadway stars that I ever met in person. Fresh out of college and on a trip to New York, I’d stumbled into an alumni of my university who, discovering my interest in being a lyricist, offered to let me join him for the final dress rehearsal of Sondheim’s Passion…as long as “his friend” didn’t mind giving up her seat. After a quick phone call, the gentlemen said that his friend agreed as long as we met after the show and told her all about it. Later, giddy with pleasure after sitting directly behind my writing idol as he took notes on the show, I was escorted over to an old theater haunt where I was introduced to my seat benefactor, Rebecca Luker. I’d had Secret Garden repeating on my cd player so I was in awe, but she didn’t seem to notice. Lovely and relaxed, she grilled us, happily bubbling with questions and caring about my opinion. It was an amazing night and one that I’ll always recall for the warmth and generosity of Ms. Luker; she showed me the kind of family that the New York theater community can be at it’s best.

After the jump, let’s watch Rebecca Luker at her best, sensitively shaping a lyric with her timeless voice:

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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 acting like the birdies on Jaybird Street…

Tom Cruise in "Rock of Ages". Image via @adammshankman.

Tweet. Tweet. Tweet. With its 140 character limit, rabid followers and echoing retweets, Twitter is either a revolutionary communication force or the end of civilized interaction as we know it. Or maybe it’s just a great way to feel like you’re chatting with the theater’s brightest stars. Given The Broadway Blog’s mission to welcome everyone into a theatrical cocktail conversation, I’ll vote C for now and let history be the judge.

As a newbie–@BroadwayBlogTom–I spent the last week diving in headfirst and trying to learn the rules of the road (and, clearly, mixing metaphors haphazardly). Other than the possibility of getting lost in a T-Hole for hours, Twitter turns out to be a pretty amazing way to learn about ticket deals, hang out with your theater idols and meet some new ones as well. Here are my top ten recommendations for twitter feeds to “follow”:

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Image via Google.

After coercing operatic stalkers, murderous barbers and fascist dictators into singing, legendary Broadway Producer and Director Harold “Hal” Prince may be tackling his most difficult subject matter of all: himself. Producers announced the creative team for a new musical titled Prince of Broadway and featuring selections from his nearly 60 years in the theater. Prince will co-direct alongside director/choreographer Susan Stroman (The Producers), with a book by David Thompson (The Scottsboro Boys) and new vocal and dance arrangements by Jason Robert Brown (Parade). The production is aiming for a summer 2012 tryout in Toronto and a “Main Stem” debut the subsequent fall.

It sounds like Prince is getting the full Jerome Robbins’ Broadway anthology treatment, which begs the question: which musical numbers from his blockbuster shows would you most want to see recreated or reinterpreted?  Tell me your top choices in the comments.

To get the conversation going, I’ll start with three darkly unorthodox choices that might shake-up the crowd-pleasing blockbuster tone and showcase Prince’s adventurous side. One note: although Prince of Broadway will feature songs from shows he produced, I limited myself to his directorial efforts; feel free to roam the full catalog (West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, Damn Yankees and more).

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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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Once a month, a member of the theater community will pull up a chair to our cyber table and join us for a little conversation. I’ll edit the transcripts (removing the truly libelous parts) and post the results here every second Wednesday. For June…

Photo by Nancy Opel.

Nancy Opel is the real deal, an actor/singer with fearless comedic instincts and a resume that can’t be contained by a mere 100-word program bio. (She was the matinee “Eva” in the original Broadway Evita for goodness sake!) She’s got an Obie–as well as Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, Lucille Lortell nominations–and a whip smart theatrical mind that makes her a writer’s best friend. Case in point: by some miracle, she agreed to be the titular lead in a Fringe Festival show I co-wrote called For the Love of Tiffany: A Wifetime Original Musical, about a washed-up TV diva angling for a comeback amidst her soap-operatic life. With little to no budget, we had been lamenting how we’d love to have publicity shots from some of “Tiffany’s” TV movies. At the next rehearsal, Nancy marched in and announced she had gone out on her own, found the perfect Meredith Baxter-Birney wig and posed for a series of photos “in character”. Not only were the pictures hysterical (“gauzy” doesn’t even begin to do them justice), they were a testament to Nancy’s absolute immersion in her work. Funny and fiercely committed, she’s the performer you want on your team.

We caught up recently, battling allergy symptoms and recording difficulties, to discuss her current role in Broadway’s Memphis, uvulas and some composer guy named Steve.

You’re appearing in Memphis now as “Mama”, a role that was originated by Cass Morgan. Is it daunting to step into a role after someone else?

I didn’t feel like the creators were asking me to copy Cass’ show exactly. I’d worked with these writers before [Joe DiPietro and David Bryan, who also wrote Toxic Avenger] and had done several readings for the director, Christopher Ashley. I was quite delighted that they called me and asked me to join the company.  They know what I can do and trusted me to bring that certain something to the role.

That must have given you a great sense of freedom.

I didn’t change the timing of the show or anything. But little things. I felt that I had a lot of freedom to try what worked for me. Plus I only had two weeks of rehearsal.

That’s crazy.

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We’re spanning the globe for some quick links and tidbits from the week in theater news:

• Let’s start it out like a song with the announcement of New York City Center’s Encores! upcoming season, which includes the life-in-reverse Sondheim/Furth musical Merrily We Roll Along. It should be a must-see given that the show’s score is as tuneful and heartbreaking as anything Sondheim has ever produced.

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  Mark Rylance. Photo by Simon Annand.

  You’ve got another chance to see the Holy Land…at least the theatrical kind. Producers announced that they are extending the run for Jerusalem, the invigoratingly epic new British play featuring an astonishing central turn by Mark Rylance. Tickets are now on sale through August 21.

• Speaking of great performances, do you regret missing out on the divine Cate Blanchett in A Streetcar Named Desire? Learn your lesson and grab tickets for the Sydney Theater Company’s Uncle Vanya, starring the Oscar winner and making its only currently announced U.S. stop at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in August. Tickets go on sale June 1 for members and June 10 for the rest of us.

• Since we’re already Down Under, let’s take note that the Premier of New South Wales revealed that a musical adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom will make its premiere spin at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre in 2013.

• Another movie-to-stage adaptation (this is like a free-association chain!) made news; The Pasadena Playhouse announced that it will be the home for a musical version of Sleepless in Seattle, June 2012.

• The Drama Desk Awards were handed out and the Book of Mormon, War Horse and Anything Goes juggernauts rolled on. Three surprises worth noting: Norbert Leo Butz took Outstanding Actor in a Musical for Catch Me If You Can, Bobby Cannavale (The Motherf—-er with the Hat) beat out the blockbuster competition for Outstanding Actor in a Play and a limited-run Off-Broadway show, See Rock City, shockingly took the prize for Outstanding Book of a Musical from those seemingly unstoppable Mormon boys.

• The long-rumored Broadway revival of Godspell is finally a go. It will play Circle in the Square beginning October 13 with direction by Daniel Goldstein and choreography by Broadway Blog friend Christopher Gattelli. With Wicked next door, they might as well dub the block Stephen Schwartz Way.

• The Off-Broadway musical Lucky Guy rides off into the sunset this weekend, closing after a shortened run. Happy Trails.

"The Importance of Being Earnest". Photo by Joan Marcus.

In the olden days (you know, like maybe five years ago), the only way you could see the latest Broadway hit at the movies was in a high class adaptation, opened up to make it feel less stage-bound and cast with big stars on an Oscar hunt. Now, thanks to the Metropolitan Opera’s innovative and highly successful The Met: Live in HD program, theater producers are packaging special screenings of plays and musicals, filmed live and then shown for very limited engagements at movie theaters. Tickets cost a fraction of Broadway seats and the quality of the filming is highly accomplished; a friend of mine actually called a recent screening of Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein, “live” from the National Theatre in London, his favorite theater experience of the year so far. So, ignore that slightly dubious feeling and grab your tickets now for these three blockbuster “stage to screen” engagements, currently scheduled for June:

• The Tony-nominated revival of The Importance of Being Earnest, starring the glorious Brian Bedford as Lady Bracknell, quips its way into digital movie theaters beginning June 2. Tossing in a little added value with the bon mots, the screenings will feature behind-the-scenes footage hosted by David Hyde Pierce and an expert’s take on Oscar Wilde during intermission.

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  "The Cherry Orchard". Photo by Jim Naughten.

  Did you get tickets to the star-crammed concert version of Company at the New York Philharmonic this spring? Neither did I. But now you can see Neil Patrick Harris, Stephen Colbert, Patti LuPone and more on the big screen and feel sorry/grateful for yourself. Sondheim’s boundary-pushing look at marriage and “being alive” beams into select movie theaters starting June 15.

• London’s calling again with screenings of the National Theatre’s The Cherry Orchard beginning June 30. Starring Zoe Wanamaker in a new adaptation by Andrew Upton (that’s Mr. Cate Blanchett to cinema buffs), this production is sure to be worth a look.

Photo by Joan Marcus.

• Two big openings last night: a revival of Anything Goes headlined by the sparkling and (if you’ve seen the show, you know what I mean) indefatigable Sutton Foster; and the star-studded—heck, more like star-swamped—limited engagement concert version of Company. The Sondheim classic features so many one-named (Lupone, Colbert), two-named (Jon Cryer, Katie Finneran) and even three-named (Neil Patrick Harris, New York Philharmonic) megastars that, according to this fascinating piece in the New York Times, they had to rehearse via Skype. It gives new meaning to going online and asking “what are you wearing?”
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  Photo by Joan Marcus.

  The dresses are going back in the closet for two recent theatrical hits. The Broadway revival of La Cage Aux Folles announced it is shuttering May 1 (giving Chris Sieber his much deserved rest after all) and, on the same day, my Off-Broadway favorite, The Divine Sister, hangs up her habit.  Time to find some sensible shoes for pounding the pavement, gals.

• Two of the best singer-actors in the business, Kelli O’Hara (South Pacific) and Brian d’Arcy James (Time Stands Still) headline a tribute to music theater power couple Jason Robert Brown and Georgia Stitt on Monday, April 11. The concert benefits CAP21, an amazing organization devoted to developing new work and training the next generation of performers. Full disclosure: they’re workshopping one of my pieces so your ticket dollars help keep me and other music theater ruffians off the streets and out of singing-dancing gangs.
• The cast is in place for the revival of Larry Kramer’s groundbreaking A Normal Heart which means that Lee Pace is now breathing the same New York air as I am. Seriously folks, was there ever a more perfect Broadway-loving show on TV than the late, lamented Pushing Daisies?
• And don’t forget to get posting updates by joining The Broadway Blog gang on facebook.

Arcadia. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

They say that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb but clearly “they” weren’t talking about Broadway theater. It’s like a twenty car pile-up of show openings out there, everyone trying to crash the party before the Tony eligibility deadline on April 28. Right now, there are overworked publicists surviving on nothing more than leftover pigs-in-a-blanket and fumes from their overheating blackberries. Pray for them. Here are a few bits and bobs to keep our energy up:

• The new play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo opens tonight for a limited 16 week run on Broadway. The critical reaction to Robin Williams’ performance should be interesting to watch (and I’ll chime in next week in April’s  “To See or Not To See” round-up.)
• The box office results are in and it looks like people are responding to the fizzy (and slightly filthy) fellas of Priscilla Queen of the Desert as well as the revival of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. In a perfect world, Arcadia would be raking in Wicked-dough for years to come.

• If you want to be ahead of the curve, take a look at the list of musicals which received development grants from The National Alliance for Musical Theatre.  The odd-couple combo of Michael John LaChiusa (Hello Again) and Ellen Fitzhugh (Paper Moon) is certainly an eye-catcher.

We’ve made it through our first month and I want to thank everybody for reading and commenting; this should be a conversation between friends so jump on in and let me know what you’d like to see more (or less) of.  Keep up with posts by joining us on Facebook. And, finally, take a look back at some popular stories from March you may have missed:

• Tom Berklund was our first Theater Buff. You never forget your first.
• Celebrating Stephen Sondheim’s birthday led to some truly heartfelt and lovely remembrances from readers.
• Tony-Nominee Kate Baldwin kissed and told about Sheldon and Cheyenne.
• Cheap Broadway tickets.  ‘Nuff Said.
• And finally, we mounted a full-scale revolt against tyranny and bloating with the Les Miz Workout.

Sondheim! The Birthday Concert (Photo by Richard Termine)

During this just-completed, year-long celebration of music theater legend Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday, there have been glorious concerts, numerous revivals and so many versions of “Send in the Clowns” it’s a wonder even he didn’t rise from his seat on the aisle and shout, “They’re here! They’re here, already!” On this his 81st birthday, however, something tells me there won’t be trumpets—and I couldn’t be happier.

It’s not because he shouldn’t be honored; he remains the undisputed modern master of the form who, alongside his collaborators, has created multiple masterpieces that continue to illuminate and inspire. What this “quiet” affords us is the chance to back away from the razzle dazzle of the celebrations and think about the moments that resonate personally. Sondheim, more than anyone else in the music theater, rewards those who take a second look, who go back and listen again with fresh—though perhaps not innocent—ears.

In honor of my idol’s 81st birthday, here are 8 + 1 things I’m grateful for in the life and work of Stephen Sondheim: Read more…