Broadway Legends: Peter Stone

Posted on February 27, 2021 by boz

Three-time Tony-winning librettist Peter Stone was born Feb. 27, 1930, in Beverly Hills. His parents were both screenwriters, and he loved movies, but he was even more enamored of theater. After graduating from University H.S., he attended Bard College, where he had two plays produced. He continued his studies at the Yale School of Drama, earning a master’s in 1953. He spent most of the remaining decade as a broadcast journalist in France, where his mother had moved with her second husband. 

He sold his first script in 1956 to Studio One and had continued success in TV, winning an Emmy in 1962 for The Defenders and working with Richard Rodgers on the 1967 musical Androcles and the Lion. His first film script was for Charade (1963), which landed him a contract with Universal, resulting in Father Goose (1964) — which earned Stone an Oscar — then Mirage (1965), Arabesque (1966), The Secret War of Harry Frigg (1968), Jigsaw (1969), and the film adaptation of Sweet Charity (1969). Below is Shirley MacLaine singing “If My Friends Could See Me Now” from Sweet Charity.

During the 1960s, Stone also began writing Broadway musicals. Alfred Drake’s agent (who was also Stone’s) asked Stone to write the libretto to Kean (1961) for Drake. The show only ran two months, but Stone’s next musical, Skyscraper (1965), ran for a respectable seven months and earned him a Tony nomination. Two years later, he had his first stage hit with 1776 (1969), which earned Stone his first Tony award and made him the first writer to win an Emmy, Oscar, and Tony. Below is the trailer for the film adaptation of 1776.

In the 1970s, Stone continued to work on both coasts. His Broadway work includes uncredited book doctoring on Georgy (1970), the librettos for Two by Two (1970) and Sugar (1972), and uncredited doctoring on Goodtime Charley (1975). His screenplays during this time include Skin Game (1971), the adaptation of 1776 (1972), The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), Silver Bears (1978), and Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe (1978), as well as the “Boy Meets Girl” segment in the Emmy-winning TV special Free to Be … You & Me (1974), which you can watch below.

In 1981, Stone was elected president of the Dramatists Guild, serving until 1999. He also returned to Broadway that year with Woman of the Year, for which he won his second Tony. Stone then wrote a new book for My One and Only (1983) during its out-of-town tryout, for which he earned a Tony nomination, and did uncredited script doctoring on Grand Hotel (1989). Below is Tony winner Lauren Bacall performing “One of the Boys” at the 1981 Tonys.

Stone earned his fifth Tony nomination for The Will Rogers Follies (1991) and picked up his third Tony Award for Titanic (1997). His last Broadway hit was the 1999 revival of Annie Get Your Gun, for which he revised the original 1946 book. Stone died of pulmonary fibrosis on Apr. 26, 2003, in Manhattan. Below are Bernadette Peters and Tom Wopat with the Annie Get Your Gun revival cast at the 1999 Tonys, performing “I Got the Sun in the Morning / Old-Fashioned Wedding.”

On Feb. 27, 2004, he was posthumously inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. The two shows that Stone was working on at the time of his death were both eventually produced. Curtains opened on Broadway in 2007, with the book adapted by Rupert Holmes, and Death Takes a Holiday Off-Broadway in 2011, the book being completed by his cowriter Thomas Meehan. Below is an interview with Stone on Theater Talk, recorded Oct. 8, 1997, that includes clips from both Titanic and the Annie Get Your Gun revival, which were both running at the time.

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Funko Hamilton Figurines

Posted on February 26, 2021 by boz

The collectible manufacturer Funko has announced a new set of figurines based on the musical cultural phenomenon Hamilton. The Funko Pop Hamilton collection will include four-inch vinyl figurines and three-inch keychain versions of Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton, Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr, Christopher Jackson as George Washington, Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler, Phillipa Soo as Eliza Schuyler, and Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler. The collection will be available in June from Funko retailers and the Official Hamilton Musical Merchandise site, with a blue coat version of Alexander Hamilton available exclusively at Walmart. Figurines will retail for $11 and keychains for $5. Other Funko Pop musical collections include characters from Little Shop of Horrors, Grease, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid. 

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Broadway Birthday: Priscilla Lopez

Posted on February 26, 2021 by boz

Happy Birthday to Tony-winning performer Priscilla Lopez, born Feb. 26, 1948, in the Bronx. She began studying dance while in grammar school and, by age 13, landed a spot in the 1961 film West Side Story. She graduated from Manhattan’s High School of Performing Arts and, by age 18, booked her first Broadway job. Unfortunately, that was Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1966), which closed before opening night. Her next two jobs also ended quickly: Henry, Sweet Henry (1967) after 80 shows and Her First Roman (1968) after 17. 

Then she was cast as the understudy for Kathy in Company (1970), taking over the role within the year. During that show, she met trombonist Vincent Fanuele, whom she married. In 1974, she replaced Leland Palmer as Fastrada in Pippin, as she participated in taped talk sessions with fellow dancers for Michael Bennett. Sixteen months after those all-night talks, A Chorus Line opened Off-Broadway, transferring to Broadway two months later. For her role as Diana, she received an Obie Award, Theatre World Award, and Tony nomination. Below is Lopez singing “What I Did for Love” at the 1981 Tonys.

Lopez starred in the short-lived Norman Lear TV series In the Beginning (1978), before returning to Broadway in A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine (1980), for which she won a Tony Award. The show’s choreographer, Tommy Tune, asked her to assist him on his next show, Nine (1982). Six months later, she replaced the departing Liliane Montevecchi as Liliane La Fleur. Below is the Hollywood/Ukraine cast in “Doin’ the Production Code” at the 1980 Tonys.

Over the next decade, Lopez worked often Off-Broadway — in the plays Key Exchange (1981), Extremities (1982), and Other People’s Money (1989) and the musicals Non Pasquale (1983) and Times & Appetites of Toulouse Lautrec (1985), which she choreographed. She also appeared in the TV movies Herself the Elf (1983) and Love Cycle: A Soap Operetta (1984) as well as the short-lived series Kay O’Brien (1986). Below is Lopez and Patti LuPone performing “Things Change” in Love Cycle.

In the 1990s, Lopez focused on her family, but toward the end of the decade, she appeared in the play The Passion of Frida Kahlo (1999), as well as in the concerts Babes in Arms (1999) and My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies. Below is Lopez recreating the Chorus Line song “Nothing,” based on her own experiences at the High School of Performing Arts, for My Favorite Broadway.

https://youtu.be/shk4Lo5uuCI

Lopez kept busy in the 2000s with roles in the Pulitzer-winning Anna in the Tropics (2003) and Class Mothers ’68 (2003), for which she won a Drama Desk Award, as well as the new musicals Newyorkers (2001), The Odd Potato (2005), and Pulitzer nominee In the Heights (2007), for which she received another Drama Desk Award. Her recent musical work includes Berthe in the 2013 revival of Pippin and a cameo in Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical (2021). Below is Lopez singing “Enough” from In the Heights.

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Today in Musical History: A Little Night Music

Posted on February 25, 2021 by boz

On Feb. 25, 1973, A Little Night Music opened at the Shubert Theatre, running on Broadway for 601 performances. After the success of She Loves Me, Hal Prince asked Stephen Sondheim about writing a romantic musical. Their first choice to adapt was Ring Round the Moon, but playwright Jean Anouilh wanted Leonard Bernstein to write the music, so Prince and Sondheim moved on to Jean Renoir’s The Rules of the Game and Ingmar Bergman’s Smiles of a Summer Night. Librettist Hugh Wheeler thought Bergman’s film was better suited, and Bergman granted permission — provided they didn’t use the film’s title, which was moot since Sondheim had already chosen A Little Night Music. Below is the original trailer for the 1955 Swedish film.

“The original concept was that of a fantasy-ridden musical. It was to take place over a weekend during which, in almost game-like, fashion, Desiree would have been the prime mover and would work the characters into different situations,” Sondheim has said. “The way all this worked was that Madame Armfeldt, who was like a witch figure, would reshuffle the pack of cards and time would revert and we’d be back at the beginning of the weekend again.” That idea changed, but the final script maintained the light-hearted weekend excursion with darker tones bubbling underneath.

In addition to producer-director Prince, composer Sondheim, and librettist Wheeler, the creative team included Jonathan Tunick (orchestrations), Harold Hastings (music direction), Patricia Birch (choreography), Boris Aronson (sets), Florence Klotz (costumes), Tharon Musser (lights), Jack Mann (sound), and Charles La France (hair). The cast was led by Len Cariou (Fredrik), Hermione Gingold (Mme. Arnfeldt), and Glynis Johns (Desiree). The production received 12 Tony nominations, winning six, including musical, book, score, actress (Johns), featured actress (Patricia Elliott), and costumes. Below is Johns singing “Send in the Clowns.”

The show made its West End premiere on Apr. 15, 1975 at the Adelphi Theatre, where ran for 406 performances. The cast was led by Joss Ackland (Fredrik), Hermione Gingold (Mme. Armfeldt) from the original Broadway cast, and Jean Simmons (Desiree), who had headlined the first national US tour.

Nearly all of the score is written in variations of a waltz meter (3/4 time). The variations also extend to the lyrical shape of the songs, with many performed by trios or by duets about a third person. Judy Collins recorded the show’s “Send in the Clowns,” reaching the Top 40 in 1975 and then the Top 20 in 1977, after the song won the Grammy for Song of the Year. Below is Collins with the Boston Pops in 1976.

The film adaptation premiered in 1977. In addition to its setting being moved from Sweden to Austria, Sondheim wrote lyrics for the “Night Waltz” theme (“Love Takes Time”) and a new version of “The Glamorous Life,” now often incorporated into productions, while “In Praise of Women,” “The Miller’s Son,” and “Liaisons” were cut. The creative team included Prince, Sondheim, Wheeler, Tunick, Birch, and Klotz from the stage version, in addition to Elliot Kastner (producer), Arthur Ibbetson (cinematography), John Jympson (editing), Hertha Jareiter (art direction), Hans Ziegelwagner (set decoration), and Paul Gemignani (music direction). 

The film cast was led by Len Cariou (Frederick), Hermione Gingold (Mme. Armfeldt) from the original Broadway production, and Elizabeth Taylor (Desiree). Critical reaction was mostly negative but Tunick won an Oscar for his orchestrations and costumer Florence Klotz received a nomination. Below is Taylor singing “Send in the Clowns.”

There have been three London revivals so far. The first, directed by Ian Judge, ran for 144 performances in 1989 with Peter McEnery (Fredrik), Lila Kedrova (Mme. Armfeldt), and Dorothy Tutin (Desiree). The second, directed by Sean Mathias at the Royal National Theatre, received four Olivier nominations. It starred Laurence Guittard (Fredrik), Sian Phillips (Mme. Armfeldt), and Judi Dench (Desiree), who won an Olivier for best actress in a musical. Below is Dench singing “Send in the Clowns.”

The third London revival opened in 2008 at the Menier Chocolate Factory, directed by Trevor Nunn, with Alexander Hanson (Fredrik), Maureen Lipman (Mme. Armfeldt), and Hannah Waddingham (Desiree). This production, which featured new orchestrations by Jason Carr, transferred to Broadway in 2009 with a new cast led by Alexander Hanson (Fredrik), Angela Lansbury (Mme. Armfeldt), and Catherine Zeta-Jones (Desiree). The Broadway production received four Tony nominations, with Zeta-Jones winning for best actress. Below is Zeta-Jones singing “Send in the Clowns” at the 2010 Tonys.

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Broadway Birthday: Rupert Holmes

Posted on February 24, 2021 by boz

Happy Birthday to Tony-winning writer Rupert Holmes, born David Goldstein on Feb. 24, 1947, in Northwich, Cheshire, England. When Holmes was 6, his family moved to the New York City suburb of Nanuet, where he attended Nyack H.S. After graduating from Manhattan School of Music, he worked as a session musician and music arranger for Brill Building songwriters. He had his first Top 40 hit in 1970 with “Jennifer Tomkins,” which he recorded as The Cuff Links, later renamed The Street People. (On his website, you can read my interview of him with more details.)

Holmes followed the next year with the Top 20 hit “Timothy,” recorded by The Buoys, as well as jingles, film songs for revenge westerns and crime dramas, and pop tunes for Gene Pitney, The Platters, The Drifters, Wayne Newton, Dolly Parton, Barry Manilow, and The Partridge Family. Below is David Cassidy singing “Echo Valley 2-6809” on the Sept. 24, 1971, Partridge Family episode.

As a recording artist, Holmes broke through with his first album, Widescreen (1974), which caught the attention of Barbra Streisand, who used some of his songs in the 1976 movie A Star Is Born, earning him BAFTA and Grammy nominations for best film score. Holmes also worked on Streisand’s Lazy Afternoon (1975) and five more of her albums. Below is Streisand singing “Everything” in A Star Is Born.

He continued to write and produce songs for himself and others, landing the #1 hit “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” on his fifth album, Partners in Crime (1979), which also included the Top 40 hits “Him” and “Answering Machine.” Below is the TV premiere of “Escape,” performed by Holmes on the Jan. 11, 1980, episode of The Midnight Special.

Holmes made his Broadway debut with the book, music, and lyrics for The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which opened Off-Broadway in 1985 and soon moved uptown. The production earned 11 Tony nods, winning five (including musical plus book and score for Holmes) and 15 Drama Desk nods, winning nine (including musical plus book, music, lyrics, and orchestrations for Holmes). Below is the cast at the 1986 Tonys, performing “There You Are / Don’t Quit While You’re Ahead.”

During the 1990s, Holmes returned to Broadway with the mystery Accomplice (1990) and solo show Solitary Confinement (1992) and began musicalizing the 19th century novels The Phantom of the Opera and The Picture of Dorian Gray, both as yet unproduced. He also created the musical TV series Remember WENN (1996-98). Below is Betty Buckley singing “You Make It Christmas” on the Dec. 21, 1996, episode of that show.

In 2002, Holmes earned a Tony nomination for his George Burns bio play Say Goodnight, Gracie, collaborated on the musical Marty with Charles Strouse and Lee Adams, and created the tango revue Swango. In 2005, he premiered adaptations of his 2003 debut novel Where Truth Lies and his 2005 book Swing. He ended the decade working on the Kander and Ebb musical Curtains, which opened on Broadway in 2007 and earned eight Tony nominations. Below is Tony winner David Hyde Pierce leading the cast in “Show People” at the 2007 Tonys.

In the past decade, Holmes has worked on several new musicals, including The First Wives’ Club (2009) with Holland-Dozier-Holland, Robin and the 7 Hoods (2010), The Nutty Professor (2012) with Marvin Hamlisch, and Secondhand Lions (2013). In 2013, he also returned to Broadway with the play A Time to Kill, adapted from the John Grisham novel, and wrote songs with Hamlisch for the Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra. Below is a preview of the musical The Nutty Professor.

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Broadway Birthday: Robert Lopez

Posted on February 23, 2021 by boz

Happy Birthday to double EGOT writer Robert Lopez, born Feb. 23, 1975, in Manhattan. At age 6, he started piano lessons at Greenwich House Music School, before attending Hunter College H.S. He studied English at Yale University, where he wrote two musicals himself. After graduating in 1997, Lopez lived with his parents in Greenwich Village for four years and temped, until he began earning enough money to rent an apartment of his own.

In 1998, while attending the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop, he met Kristen Anderson, whom he married in 2003, and Jeff Marx, with whom he wrote Kermit, Prince of Denmark, which won a Kleban Award. In 1999, Lopez and Marx began work on Avenue Q, which premiered Off-Broadway in 2003 and quickly transferred to Broadway. The production earned six Tony nominations (winning best musical, book, and score), and the original cast album earned a Grammy nomination. Below is the original Avenue Q cast performing “It Sucks to Be Me” at the 2004 Tonys.

Meanwhile, Lopez collaborated with his brother, Billy, on songs for the Nickelodeon series Wonder Pets, for which they won a Daytime Emmy. The following year, Lopez and his wife wrote a musical adaptation of Finding Nemo for Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park, and Lopez and Marx collaborated on the Scrubs episode “My Musical,” earning an Emmy nomination for the song “Everything Comes Down to Poo,” which you can watch below, featuring Avenue Q star Stephanie D’Abruzzo.

In 2010, Lopez won his second Daytime Emmy for The Wonder Pets. A year later, The Book of Mormon premiered on Broadway, after seven years of development, earning 13 Tony nominations and winning nine, including best musical, book, and score. In 2012, the original cast album won a Grammy, and in 2014, the London premiere won the Olivier Award for best new musical. Below is Tony nominee Andrew Rannells singing  “I Believe” at the 2012 Tonys.

Lopez and his wife collaborated on songs for Disney’s Winnie the Pooh (2011), then on the score to the studio’s Frozen (2013), which earned the couple an Oscar and a Grammy for the song “Let It Go,” making Lopez the 12th person to achieve the EGOT. Below is the scene from the movie, sung by Idina Menzel as Elsa.

In 2015, the couple’s stage musical Up Here debuted 2015 at La Jolla Playhouse, and they received two Emmy nominations for the songs “Kiss an Old Man” (from the mockumentary TV series The Comedians, starring Frozen alum Josh Gad) and “Moving Pictures” (from the 87th annual Oscar ceremony), which you can watch below, featuring Neil Patrick Harris, Anna Kendrick, and Jack Black. 

https://youtu.be/SLyiG8g6dmM

Bobby and Kristen won another Oscar for their song “Remember Me” from the Disney/Pixar film Coco (2017), making Lopez the first double EGOT winner. A year later, the couple earned a Tony nomination for the score to the stage adaptation of Frozen and an Oscar nomination for “Into the Unknown” from Frozen II (2018). Most recently, they composed the theme music for the 2021 Disney series WandaVision. Below is “Remember Me” from Coco, featuring Anthony Gonzalez and Ana Ofelia Murguía.

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Broadway Birthday: Sheila Hancock

Posted on February 22, 2021 by boz

Happy Birthday to Olivier-winning actress Sheila Hancock, born Feb. 22, 1933, on the Isle of Wight. She later moved to King’s Cross in London, where her parents ran a pub. After wartime evacuation to Somerset, Hancock attended Dartford County Grammar School, where her first role was a cold germ in a school play at age 10. She attended RADA on a grant, then spent nine years in weekly repertory around the U.K. While in Bath, she met actor Alec Ross, whom she married in 1955.

She made her West End debut in 1958, replacing Joan Sims in the play Breath of Spring. She then appeared in Joan Littlewood’s musical Make Me an Offer (1959) and Peter Cook’s revue One over the Eight (1961). In 1962, she collaborated with folk musician Sydney Carter on the album Putting Out the Dustbin, which included the novelty hit “My Last Cigarette,” which you can listen to below.

In 1966, she made her only Broadway appearance in the play Entertaining Mr Sloane, earning a Tony nomination. In 1969, she was back on the West End in the play So What About Love?, where she met actor John Thaw. She then lost her mother and husband within nine months of each other. She married Thaw two years later, and in 1974, was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. She closed out the 1970s as Miss Hannigan in the West End premiere of Annie (1978), earning her first Olivier nomination. Below you can hear her sing “Little Girls” on the original London cast album.

She began the 1980s as Mrs Lovett in the West End premiere of Sweeney Todd, earning her second Olivier nomination. She was associate director of Cambridge Theatre Company (1980-81) and director of RSC’s Touring Company (1983-84), while earning two more Olivier noms for her performances in the plays The Winter’s Tale (1982) and Prin (1989). Below is a montage from Sweeney Todd, featuring Hancock in “The Worst Pies in London” (3:08​) and “A Little Priest” (9:28​).

Hancock worked most of the 1990s in supporting roles on film and TV, with the exception of Rose in the West Yorkshire Playhouse 1993 production of Gypsy. After Thaw died in 2002, Hancock returned to performing with BAFTA-nominated TV roles in The Russian Bride (2002) and Bedtime (2003). Then in 2004, she released the memoir The Two of Us: My Life with John Thaw, followed by Just Me in 2008. She returned to the West End stage as Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret (2007), earning her first Olivier Award. Below is Hancock singing “So What.”

She began the 2010s on the West End as Mother Superior in Sister Act, earning an Olivier nomination. Then she was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2011), published the novel Miss Carter’s War (2014), and starred as Big Edie in the U.K. premiere of Grey Gardens at Southwark Playhouse (2016). Earlier this year, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Below are highlights from Sister Act, featuring Hancock in “Here Within These Walls” (1:45).

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Broadway Birthday: Christine Ebersole

Posted on February 21, 2021 by boz

Happy Birthday to two-time Tony winner Christine Ebersole, born Feb. 21, 1953, in Winnetka, Ill., where she attended New Trier H.S. She studied theater at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill., for two years before heading to New York, where she continued her training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She’s joked that her first job after graduation was as a waitress, but Ebersole soon found steady acting work.

In 1976, she made her Broadway debut in a revival of Angel Street. In 1977, she made her Off-Broadway debut in the original musical Green Pond and her TV debut with a recurring role on the soap Ryan’s Hope. She returned to Broadway a year later in On the Twentieth Century, then landed the breakthrough role of Ado Annie in the 1979 revival of Oklahoma! Below is Ebersole with Christine Andreas in “I Cain’t Say No.”

She began the 1980s as Guenevere in the revival of Camelot opposite Richard Burton, then spent the next few years with film and TV work, including the Weekend Update desk on Saturday Night Live (1981-82), appearances in Tootsie (1982) and Amadeus (1984), and a recurring role on the soap One Life to Live (1983-85), for which she received a Daytime Emmy nomination. Below is Ebersole in the musical SNL skit “I’m So Miserable.”

After the short-lived 1985 Broadway musical Harrigan ’n Hart, Ebersole moved to Los Angeles to pursue more film and TV work. She soon booked the 1986 sitcom The Cavanaughs, during which she met and married composer Bill Moloney. After that series, she played the title role in the 1992 sitcom Rachel Gunn, R.N. and appeared as Tessi Tura in the 1993 TV adaptation of Gypsy starring Bette Midler. Below are Linda Hart, Anna McNeely, and Ebersole in “You Gotta Get a Gimmick.”

She next appeared on Broadway in the plays Getting Away with Murder (1996) and Best Man (2000), before returning to musicals with the 2001 revival of 42nd Street, for which she received her first Tony Award and Drama Desk nomination. She followed that with revivals of the plays Dinner at Eight (2002, Tony nomination) and Steel Magnolias (2005). Below is Ebersole singing “Shadow Waltz” in 42nd Street.

She returned Off-Broadway with the play Talking Heads (2003), for which she received a Drama Desk nomination and her first Obie Award, and the musical Grey Gardens, which transferred to Broadway and earned Ebersole her second Tony and Obie awards and her first Drama Desk Award. She closed out the 2000s with the 2009 revival of Blithe Spirit and a recurring role in the USA series Royal Pains (2009-16). Below is Ebersole singing “The Revolutionary Costume for Today” at the 2007 Tonys.

In the past decade, Ebersole starred on the TBS sitcom Sullivan & Son (2012-14) and played opposite Patti LuPone in the 2017 musical War Paint, earning her fourth Tony and Drama Desk nominations. Most recently, she has been one of the main characters in the 2019 sitcom Bob Hearts Abishola. Below are Ebersole and LuPone in “Face to Face” at the 2018 Tonys.

https://youtu.be/6CTTIISUl_0

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Broadway Birthday: Jessie Mueller

Posted on February 20, 2021 by boz

Happy Birthday to Tony-winning actress Jessie Mueller, born Feb. 20, 1983, in Evanston, Ill. She and her siblings have followed their parents into the theater. After graduating from Evanston Township H.S. in 2001, Mueller studied musical theater at Syracuse University, returning to Chicago in 2005 to start her performing career. She made her professional debut in Once upon a Mattress (2005) at Chicago’s Drury Lane and appeared regularly at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. 

Mueller received her first Joseph Jefferson Award for her supporting role as Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel (2008). The following year, she met her partner, actor Andy Truschinski, during Goodman Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol. She won a second Jeff Award for the lead role in She Loves Me (2010) and a third nomination for Guys and Dolls (2011). Below is Mueller with Heidi Kettenring singing “I Don’t Know His Name” from She Loves Me.

She moved to New York in 2011 to make her Broadway debut in the revival of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, for which she received the Theatre World Award and her first Tony and Desk Desk award nominations. The following year, Mueller made her Off-Broadway debut as Cinderella in the Public Theater revival of Into the Woods and returned to Broadway in the revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, for which she received her second Drama Desk nomination. Below is Mueller singing “Ev’ry Night at Seven” from On a Clear Day.

In 2013, Mueller appeared in the closing Broadway cast of Nice Work If You Can Get It, then once again took on the role of Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel for Lincoln Center’s concert production filmed for PBS. The following year, she appeared in Broadway premiere of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, for which she won Tony, Drama Desk, and Grammy awards. Below is Mueller and the Beautiful cast performing “Will You Love Me Tomorrow / I Feel the Earth Move” with Carole King at the 2014 Tonys.

https://youtu.be/TuVgUEXAKwI

Mueller returned to Broadway in 2016 with Waitress, which brought her another pair of Tony and Drama Desk nods. Two years later, she was back on Broadway in the lead role of Julie Jordan for the revival of Carousel, which earned Mueller her fifth Drama Desk nomination (and second win) and fourth Tony Award nomination. Below is the Waitress cast performing “Opening Up / She Used to Be Mine” at the 2016 Tonys.

https://youtu.be/x7uLeydDNsg

In the past few years, Mueller has appeared opposite Norm Lewis in the Kennedy Center’s 2019 concert production of The Music Man and opposite Megan Hilty in the Lifetime original movie Patsy & Loretta. She had begun previews for the play The Minutes, when the pandemic closed Broadway. The show plans to resume in spring 2022, with an opening set for March 15. Below is the trailer for Patsy & Loretta.

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Today in Musical History: Umbrellas of Cherbourg

Posted on February 19, 2021 by boz

On Feb. 19, 1964, the sung-through musical film Les Parapluies de Cherbourg was released in France, premiering in the U.K. that October and in the U.S. that December as The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. It is the second in an informal trilogy written and directed by Jacques Demy, which includes Lola (1961) and The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967). Umbrellas centers on young lovers Genevieve, who works in her mother’s umbrella shop, and local garage mechanic Guy. (A plaque at 13 Rue De Port in Cherbourg honors the shop used in the film.) It’s a classic boy meets girl tale, complicated with love triangles as only the French can invent. Below is the original French trailer.

In addition to writer-director Demy, the creative team included Michel Legrand (music), Jean Rabier (cinematography), Anne-Marie Cotret and Monique Teisseire (editing), Bernard Evein (production design), and Jacqueline Moreau (costumes). The cast included Catherine Deneuve (Geneviève, sung by Danielle Licari), Nino Castelnuovo (Guy, sung by José Bartel), Anne Vernon (Mme. Emery, sung by Christiane Legrand), Marc Michel (Roland, sung by Georges Blaness), Ellen Farner (Madeleine, sung by Claudine Meunier), and Mireille Perrey (Aunt Élise, sung by Claire Leclerc). Below is a montage of the movie’s main theme song.

The film met with popular and critical success, winning three awards at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival, including the Palme d’Or. In the U.S., it was nominated for four Oscars, in addition to receiving Golden Globe and Grammy nominations. Two of its songs, with English lyrics by Norman Gimbel, bubbled under Billboard’s Hot 100: Steve Lawrence’s “I Will Wait for You” and Lena Horne’s “Watch What Happens,” which you can watch below from an 1971 episode of Kraft Music Hall.

On Feb. 1, 1979, Sheldon Harnick’s adaptation premiered Off-Broadway, with Stefanianna Christopherson (Genevieve), Dean Pitchford (Guy), and Judith Roberts (Mme. Emery), directed by Andrei Serban. In 2005, Harnick revised the piece for a regional production, with Heather Spore (Genevieve), Max von Essen (Guy), and Maureen Silliman (Mme. Emery), directed by Jonathan Fox. In 2011, Kneehigh Theatre produced the show’s West End premiere, opening March 22 at the Gielgud with Carly Bawden (Geneviève), Andrew Durand (Guy), and Joanna Riding (Mme. Emery), directed by Emma Rice. Below is the promo video for that production.

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