Fire up those speakers, grab a microphone/hairbrush, and warn the neighbors—it’s cast album day at the Broadway Blog!
The inimitable Sutton Foster and her shipmates from the Tony Award-winning revival of Anything Goesmake digital waves today as the official cast album is made available for download. For those who still associate the term “jewel case” with music and not a glittering collection of diamond tiaras, the Ghostlight Records release will also be available in “physical” copies as of September 23. Either way, you can’t go wrong with this rousing collection of Cole Porter gems.
Not to be outdone, PS Classics announced they will be heading into the studio to capture the new Broadway revival of Follies for a showtune-loving, history-correcting, two-disc set (the original Broadway cast album was notoriously cut down to a single disc). Bernadette Peters, Jan Maxwell, and the rest of the company (not to be confused with the cast of Company) will record the album October 3 & 4, in time for a late November and holiday gift-giving release. If you think you might be on Santa’s naughty list, pre-order your own copy here.
With all this talk of cast albums (never “Soundtrack,” Philistine), everybody hop into the comments and tell me which Broadway recordings you listen to the most. To get the ball rolling, my top three songs (via an embarrassing and shockingly Sondheim-free look at my iTunes “most-played” list) are…
If I were a betting man (and I am if you get me near a church-picnic bingo table), I’d say the Outer Critics Circle just laid out a rock solid slate to mark off on your Tony pool ballot. Announced yesterday, the organization’s awards in major categories went to War Horse (Best Play), The Book of Mormon (Best Musical), Mark Rylance (Best Actor in a Play), Josh Gad (Best Actor in a Musical) and Sutton Foster (Best Actress in a Musical). The only wrinkle for us prediction junkies was their choice for Best Actress in a Play: a tie between Nina Arianda and Frances McDormand. It’s hard to guess which number will be called when you’ve got two great draws in the irresistible “star is born” newcomer and the beloved Hollywood star-power vet. My favorite win, though, was Laura Benanti’s well-deserved trophy for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for the much-maligned Women on the Verge of a Nervouse Breakdown; just thinking back to her hysterical turn makes me want to climb up on my folding chair and shout, “Bingo!”
Continue reading after the jump for the Obie Award winners and video of a surprise Broadway wedding proposal…
Larry Kramer’s flame-throwing, autobiographical play about the early days of the AIDS crisis in New York City gets a starry revival directed by Joel Grey and George C. Wolfe.
“More than a quarter of a century after it first scorched New York, “The Normal Heart” is breathing fire again.” New York Times
“It’s a snapshot of a city and era that feel long gone, and this production, co-directed by Joel Grey and George C. Wolfe, gives it a worthy frame.” New York Post
“…this is a spectacularly well-cast production in which every role has found its ideal interpreter.” Hollywood Reporter
“How does it hold up? Better than I expected, but not as well as I’d hoped.” Wall Street Journal
Mizer’s Two Cents: This is passionate, essential theater brought to life by top-tier actors working as a perfect ensemble. Larry Kramer can be a real pill and Joe Mantello’s central performance as Kramer’s stand-in Ned Weeks doesn’t shy away from the loud and off-putting aspects of the character, but he also manages to let us see the insecure, romantic beneath. John Benjamin Hickey is the key, allowing us to fall in love with Larry through his smart, unsentimental eyes. Yes, the play is political, lopsided and “sad;” but it is also timely, scathingly funny and stuffed with spoken arias that ring show-stopping applause from the audience. Plus, you walk out of the theater feeling like you want to kick some butt. It is unmissable for all serious, adult theatergoers.
The nominations for the 2011 Tony Awards were announced this morning and, to no one’s surprise, The Book of Mormon led the field with a whopping 14 nominations. However, to everyone’s surprise, Kander & Ebb’s final musical collaboration, Scottsboro Boys, was close behind with 12 nods–a staggering total for a show that has already closed. On the play side, nominations were more evenly spread, though the revival of The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino edged ahead with a total of 7 nominations. A few other snubs and surprises worth noting:
My dream list from yesterday proved prophetic, with all three actors getting nominations (O’Malley, Hickey and, praise the theater gods, Tammy Blanchard). Although Brief Encounter did not figure as prominently as I would have hoped, a nomination for lead actress Hannah Yelland is certainly a lovely acknowledgment.
Scottsboro seemed to swallow up any long-term memory cells in voters; another critically lauded show that is no longer open Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson failed to make as much of a mark as I thought it might. Lead actor Benjamin Walker’s omission for his sexy, magnetic performance is a shocker. However, having a roster of upcoming movie roles and Meryl Streep as his future mother-in-law might make up for the snub.
The 2010-2011 awards season is beginning to take shape with the announcement of the Outer Critics Circle Award nominations today. On the musical side, the biggest news is the field-best tally of nine nominations for Sister Act (beating out the six nominations for perceived steamroller The Book of Mormon), as well as a surprisingly strong showing for the much maligned Women on the Verge of Nervous Breakdown (Laura Benanti’s performance was a true wonder so I’m glad she’s still in the mix.) On the play side, the best actor category is a blockbuster with four performances, Al Pacino (The Merchant of Venice), Mark Rylance(Jerusalem), Joe Mantello (The Normal Heart) and Bobby Cannavale (The Mother… With the Hat), that would all seem to be clear winners in other years. On the other end of the spectrum, the acclaimed revival of Arcadia was completely snubbed, receiving no nominations.
One note: The Outer Critics mix Broadway and Off-Broadway so the list can be a bit skewed. Shows like Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson weren’t eligible here because of prior Off-Broadway runs, but they will be eligible for Tonys. However, one can’t help but notice that this season is stuffed with quality shows in categories that are often sparse; this could be an unusually exciting race.
Born Yesterday's Nina Arianda. Photo by Carol Rosegg.
Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Nina Arianda. She made her Broadway debut last night in the revival of the classic Garson Kanin comedy Born Yesterday and, cue the trumpets and flashbulbs, a star is born. (Why does writing about theater make me sound like I’m wearing a fedora and smoking a cigar?)
Fresh from NYU, Arianda won raves last year for her role in the Off-Broadway play Venus in Fur,but this performance should kick her into the stratosphere. As the smarter-than-she knows gangster moll with a yen for gin (bottled and shuffled), Arianda is brash and funny yet also surprisingly touching, all while following in the incredibly daunting footsteps of the role’s originator, the Tony and Oscar-winning Judy Holliday. Ably supported by Robert Sean Leonard as the man charged with classing her up for the D.C. political scene, she is wonderfully present and alive in what could be just an extended dumb blonde joke. Whether off-handedly discovering her lingerie has a train (like a puppy startled by her shadow) or welling up at the thought of her hard-working father, she creates magic within this solidly entertaining though certainly old-fashioned play.
A backstage birdie tells me (I feel like Walter Winchell) that the Roundabout’s critically-acclaimed revival of Anything Goes has officially been extended through January 2012. With this good news, leading lady Sutton Foster can put her gym membership on hold; she gets the workout of a lifetime every night during her awe-inspiring, lung-defying, shin-destroying numbers. Seriously, how many Broadway actresses are truly diva singers and top-tier hoofers? My favorite moment of the show comes at the end of the title song’s epic dance break; Foster walks upstage, takes the biggest “damn, now I have to sing again” breath, turns to face the audience again and seamlessly wails the last chorus.
Of course, she’s not alone in tackling that big number; she’s just one in a long line of Reno’s belting out Cole Porter’s snappy lyrics. So, thanks to the wonder of video, let’s compare and contrast the contenders: Sutton Foster, Patti LuPone, Ethel Merman…and one surprise, dark horse candidate.
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?”
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?
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