Broadway Birthday: Imelda Staunton

Posted on January 9, 2021 by boz

Happy Birthday to four-time Olivier-winning performer Imelda Staunton, born Jan. 9, 1956, in Archway, London. She’s been nominated for 13 Olivier Awards in all so far, including a record-breaking seven for Best Actress in a Musical. She first studied drama at La Sainte Convent, where she had leads in school productions such as The Beggar’s Opera. Encouraged by her elocution teacher, Staunton auditioned for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and was accepted. After graduating from RADA, Staunton spent six years in English repertory, including two seasons at Nottingham Playhouse, where she starred as Mabel in Mack and Mabel.

In the 1980s, she moved on to roles at the National Theatre, including Lucy Lockit in The Beggar’s Opera (1982), which earned her Olivier nominations for Best Actress in a Musical and for Best Newcomer. In 1985, Staunton won her first Olivier for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for her work in the plays The Corn Is Green and A Chorus of Disapproval. In 1988, she earned two Olivier nominations, one as Dorothy in a revival of The Wizard of Oz and another as Sonya in Chekhov’s play Uncle Vanya. Below is Staunton singing “Somewhere over the Rainbow” and “If I Only Had the Nerve / We’re Off to See the Wizard” with The Wizard of Oz cast at the Children’s Royal Variety.

Staunton won her first Olivier for Best Actress in a Musical in 1990 for playing the Baker’s Wife in the London premiere of Into the Woods. In 1996, she received another Olivier nomination for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Miss Adelaide in a revival of Guys and Dolls at the National Theatre. Over the next 20 years, Staunton primarily appeared in plays, including Entertaining Mr Sloane (2009), Good People (2014), and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, all for which she received Olivier nominations. Below is the cast of Into the Woods performing the prologue on Terry Wogan’s TV show and clips of the Guys and Dolls cast in a TV documentary about the revival (Staunton appears about 1:15).

In film, Staunton won the BAFTA and earned Oscar and Golden Globes nominations for her performance in the title role in Mike Leigh’s Vera Drake (2004) and earned a BAFTA nom for Pride (2014), but she is probably best known as Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter series. Since her TV debut in The Singing Detective (1986), she has appeared in Cranford (2007), which earned her a BAFTA nom, and The Girl (2012), which earned her BAFTA and Emmy noms.

Most recently, Staunton has been in the West End revivals of Sweeney Todd (2013) as Mrs. Lovett, Gypsy (2016) as Rose, and Follies (2017) as Sally, winning Oliviers for the first two and earning a nom for the third. Below is Staunton (with Michael Ball) in “A Little Priest” from Sweeney Todd and in “Everything’s Coming up Roses” from Gypsy.

Posted in People, Performers | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Off-West End Award Nominees

Posted on January 8, 2021 by boz

The Offies, London’s Off-West End Awards, have announced their 2021 nominees. The winners will be unveiled February 21 in a digital ceremony. With an insufficient number of nominations due to theater closures caused by the pandemic, several categories will not be recognized this year, including costume design, video design, company ensemble, new musical, and opera. Off-West End Director Geoffrey Brown said, “In spite of live theater being closed for most of 2020, there were still some fantastic shows.” Leading the count are the musical revivals The Last 5 Years (book, music, lyrics by Jason Robert Brown) at the Southwark Playhouse and Rags (book by Joseph Stein, music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz) at the Park Theatre, each with six nominations. 

The Last 5 Years was nominated for director (Jonathan O’Boyle), lead performance (Molly Lynch as Cathy Hiatt), lead performance (Oli Higginson as Jamie Wellerstein), musical director (George Dyer), lighting (Jamie Platt), and production (Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment). Rags earned nominations for director (Bronagh Lagan), lead performance (Carolyn Maitland as Rebecca Hershkowitz), musical director (Joe Bunker), supporting performance (Dave Willetts as Avram Cohen), supporting performance (Rachel Izen as Rachel Brodsky), and production (Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment).

The revival of Pippin (book by Roger O. Hirson, music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz) at Garden Theatre at the Eagle received three nominations: ensemble performance, musical director (Michael Bradley), and production (LAMBCO Productions). The remaining musical nods went to Frances Barber (lead performance in Musik), Beaux Harris (supporting performance in Blitz!), The Canary and the Crow (ensemble performance), and Jay Andrews (set for Lockdown Town).

IDEA (Innovative-Devised-Experimental-Atypical) Performance nominees include the cast of When It Breaks It Burns and FK Alexander of I Could Go on Singing. IDEA Production nominees include I Could Go on Singing and Sound Cistem.

Posted in Awards, Stage | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Today in Musical History: High Hat

Posted on January 8, 2021 by boz

The January 8, 1978, episode of The Carol Burnett Show (the 15th installment in the 11th — and final — season of the CBS variety series) featured the Emmy-winning mini-musical “High Hat,” a comic tribute to the 1930s Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers RKO musical films like Top Hat. The sketch is set in Venice, 1935, with Burnett and guest star Ken Berry as the Fred and Ginger couple who are both mistakenly given Room 214 by the front desk clerk at the Hotel Venice. The music and lyrics, written by Stan Freeman and Arthur Malvin in the mode of Irving Berlin, were awarded the Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Special Musical Material. In addition to series cast regulars Burnett, Vicki Lawrence, Tim Conway, and the Ernest Flatt Dancers, the episode featured frequent guest stars Berry and Roddy McDowall. Paul Barnes and Bob Sansom provided the art direction of the high-gloss, high-contrast Art Deco set, with Bill Harp its set decoration, and Bob Mackie provided the retro costumes, including a dress for Burnett that pays tribute to the infamous feather gown Rogers wore in Top Hat. You can watch the entire sketch below.

Posted in History, Reference | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Today in Musical History: Yentl

Posted on January 6, 2021 by boz

The Oscar-nominated musical Yentl received its wide release on Jan. 6, 1984, some 15 years after Barbra Streisand originally secured the film rights. Produced by Larry DeWaay with Rusty Lemorande and Streisand, the film is based on Leah Napolin and Isaac Bashevis Singer’s play of the same name, itself based on Singer’s short story “Yentl the Yeshiva Boy.” It’s the story of an Ashkenazi girl in 1904 Poland whose father, Rebbe Mendel, secretly instructs her in the Talmud. After her father’s death, she decides to dress like a man and take her late brother’s name, Anshel, to enter a Yeshiva and continue her studies.

The creative team included Barbra Streisand (direction, screenplay), Jack Rosenthal (screenplay), Michel Legrand (music, orchestrations), Alan & Marilyn Bergman (lyrics), David Watkin (cinematography), Terry Rawlings (editing), Roy Walker (production design), Leslie Tomkins (art direction), and Judy Moorcroft (costumes). The cast included Barbra Streisand (Yentl), Mandy Patinkin (Avigdor), Amy Irving (Hadass), Nehemiah Persoff (Papa), Steven Hill (Reb Vishkower), Allan Corduner (Shimmele), Miriam Margolyes (Sarah), and Doreen Mantle (Mrs. Shaemen).

The film received  five Oscar nominations: supporting actress (Irving), production design, score, song (“Papa, Can You Hear Me?”), and song (“The Way He Makes Me Feel”), with Legrand and the Bergmans winning for their score. The film also received six Golden Globe nominations: musical/comedy film, actress (Streisand), director (Streisand), actor (Patinkin), score, and song (“The Way He Makes Me Feel”), picking up trophies for film and director, making Streisand the first woman to win best director at the Globes. Below is  Streisand singing “The Way He Makes Me Feel” in the film.

The soundtrack was released Nov. 8, 1983, before the film’s premiere, and peaked at #9 on Billboard’s Top 200, reaching platinum status Jan. 9, 1984. The album, produced by  Streisand and the Bergmans with Dave Grusin and Phil Ramone, was arranged and conducted by Legrand. “The Way He Makes Me Feel,” the album’s lead single, was released Nov. 5, peaking at #40 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and spending two weeks at #1 on the adult contemporary chart. The single of “Papa, Can You Hear Me?” (which you can watch below) followed on Jan. 28 and peaked at #26 on the adult contemporary chart.

Posted in History, Reference | Tagged , | Leave a comment

In Memoriam: Lee Breuer

Posted on January 6, 2021 by boz

The New York Times has reported that award-winning director and writer Lee Breuer died January 3 at his home in Brooklyn Heights. Born Feb. 6, 1937, in Philadelphia, he studied English at UCLA, where he began to write plays and met his future wife, Ruth Maleczech. After college, the couple worked with the San Francisco Mime Troupe, among other companies, but eventually left the Bay Area and settled in New York.

In 1970, they cofounded Mabou Mines, with composer Philip Glass, director JoAnne Akalaitis, and performer David Warrilow. Another early collaborator was composer Bob Telson, with whom Breuer created the “doo-wop opera” Sister Suzie Cinema. The show premiered Off-Broadway in 1980 at the Public Theater, where several Mabou Mines productions were presented, and was broadcast at part of the PBS series Alive from Off Center in 1986, which you can watch below.

Breuer’s best-known work with Telson is The Gospel at Colonus. Set in the context of a black Pentecostal service, the musical is a retelling of the ancient Greek tragedy Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles, featuring a gospel choir. The musical premiered Nov. 8, 1983, in BAM’s inaugural Next Wave Festival, winning an Obie for best musical and being named a finalist for the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The show opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in 1988 and ran for 61 performances on Broadway, earning Breuer a Tony nomination for best book, which he refused. In 2018, most of the original cast reunited for a limited-run Off-Broadway revival. Below is the 1985 PBS Great Performances broadcast of the show, featuring Morgan Freeman.

https://youtu.be/TgG0igiRSuI

Breuer’s other musical work with Telson includes the “mock epic poem” The Warrior Ant, which premiered at BAM in 1988, and the songs “How Shall I See You Through My Tears” in the 2003 film Camp (which you can watch below, performed by Sasha Allen and Steven Cutts) and “Brenda, Brenda” in the 1987 film Bagdad Café, which was adapted as a stage musical in 2004.

Posted in People, Stagers, Writers | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist Preview

Posted on January 5, 2021 by boz

The second season of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist debuts tonight at 8 p.m. (ET) with the appropriately titled episode “Zoey’s Extraordinary Return.” The story picks up a few weeks after the end of the final season one episode, “Zoey’s Extraordinary Dad,” as Zoey (Jane Levy) and mom Maggie (Mary Steenburgen) deal with the loss of dad Mitch (Peter Gallagher). When Zoey returns to the real world after her extended time away, she discovers that a lot has changed both at work and in her personal life in her absence. The premiere of season two also introduces George (Harvey Guillén), a new fellow programmer as SPRQ Point. Below is the official First Look from NBC.

https://youtu.be/Za6r5bpPkfU

Posted in Shows, TV | Tagged | Leave a comment

Today in Musical History: The Wiz

Posted on January 5, 2021 by boz

L. Frank Baum’s Oz stories have been musicalized countless times, including the currently running Wicked. The first Broadway version was a 1903 adaptation with book and lyrics by Baum himself in which Dorothy traveled with her pet cow, Imogene. Broadway wouldn’t see a second Oz musical until Jan. 5, 1975, when The Wiz (subtitled The Super Soul Musical) opened at the Majestic Theatre. It featured a book by William F. Brown and a score by Charlie Smalls, which interpolated the song “Everybody Rejoice (A Brand New Day)” by Luther Vandross. The creative team also included Ken Harper (producer), Geoffrey Holder (direction, costumes), George Faison (choreography), Tom H. John (sets), Tharon Musser (lights), Stanley James (wigs, makeup), Richard J.C. Miller (sound), Ronald Vitelli (SFX), Harold Wheeler (orchestrations), Charles H. Coleman (vocal arrangements, musical direction), and Timothy Graphenreed (dance arrangements, additional music).

The cast included Stephanie Mills (Dorothy), Hinton Battle (Scarecrow), Tiger Haynes (Tinman), Ted Ross (Lion), Dee Dee Bridgewater (Glinda), Mabel King (Evillene), Clarice Taylor (Addaperle), Tasha Thomas (Aunt Em), and André De Shields (Wiz). Below is Mills with Michael James Leslie, Gregg Burge, and Tiger Haynes performing “Be a Lion” and “Ease on Down the Road” in a televised Central Park fundraiser. 

The original production ran for 1,672 performances and was nominated for eight Tonys, winning seven, including musical, score (Smalls), featured actor (Ross), featured actress (Bridgewater), costumes (Holder), choreography (Faison), and direction (Holder). The film version, directed by Sidney Lumet with a screenplay by Joel Schumacher, was released in 1978, starring Diana Ross (Dorothy), Michael Jackson (Scarecrow), Nipsey Russell (Tin Man), Lena Horne (Glinda), Theresa Merritt (Aunt Em), and Richard Pryor (Wiz), with Ted Ross and Mabel King reprising their stage roles. It was nominated for four Oscars. Below is Ross and Jackson in “Ease on Down the Road.”

The musical had a short-lived Broadway revival starring Mills, again directed by Holder, in 1984 (featuring future Tony winner Ann Duquesnay as Glinda) and a concert revival in the Encores! series at City Center in 2009 directed by Thomas Kail and choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler, with Ashanti (Dorothy), Christian White (Scarecrow), Joshua Henry (Tin Man), James Monroe Iglehart (Lion), LaChanze (Aunt Em, Glinda), Tichina Arnold (Evillene), Dawnn Lewis (Addaperle), and Orlando Jones (Wiz). 

A television version, directed by Kenny Leon with a screenplay by Harvey Fierstein, was broadcast on NBC in 2015 (featuring Stephanie Mills as Aunt Em), with Shanice Williams (Dorothy), Elijah Kelley (Scarecrow), Ne-Yo (Tin Man), David Alan Grier (Lion), Uzo Aduba (Glinda), Mary J. Blige (Evillene), Amber Riley (Addaperle), and Queen Latifah (Wiz). It was nominated for six Emmys, winning one. Below is Williams and the cast in a medley of “Ease on Down the Road.”

Posted in History, Reference | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Ratatouille Review Roundup

Posted on January 4, 2021 by boz

Joy Woods, Tituss Burgess, and JJ Niemann

The reviews have been generally positive for Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical, which premiered January 1 and raised more than $1.5 million for The Actors Fund. For the record, the creative team included songwriters Danny Bernstein, Gabbi Bolt, Kevin Chamberlin, RJ Christian, Nathan Fosbinder, Emily Jacobsen, Sophia James, Katie Johantgen, Daniel Mertzlufft (also music supervisor, arranger), Alec Powell, Blake Rouse, and Jessica Siswick, with additional lyrics from Kate Leonard. Rounding out the creative team were Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley (book), David Bengali (video design), Macy Schmidt (orchestrations), Emily Marshall (music coordination), Michael J. Moritz Jr. (audio production), Ellenore Scott (choreography), and Lucy Moss (direction).

The cast included Wayne Brady (Django), Tituss Burgess (Remy), Kevin Chamberlin (Gusteau), André De Shields (Ego), Andrew Barth Feldman (Linguini), Adam Lambert (Emile), Priscilla Lopez (Mabel), Ashley Park (Colette), and Mary Testa (Skinner), with Michael Breslin, Patrick Foley, Adrianna Hicks, Cori Jaskier, Sandy Kenyon, Nicole Kyoung-Mi Lambert, Raymond J. Lee, John Michael Lyles, Andrea Macasaet, Brittney Mack, Courtney Mack, Mallory Maedke, Abby Mueller, JJ Niemann, Larry Owens, Samantha Pauly, Talia Suskauer, Owen Anthony Tabaka, Anna Uzele, Natalie Walker, Nikisha Williams, and Joy Woods.

Los Angeles Times (Ashley Lee): By the end of the Broadway Sinfonietta’s overture and Kevin Chamberlin’s opening number … my skepticism for the scrappy experiment had waned. …Their playful performances were still so inventive and full of story — theater, at its core. … “The world can often be unkind to new talent, new creations; the new needs friends,” said André De Shields as Anton Ego. … Watching the production’s curtain call, with the songwriters taking a virtual bow alongside their actor counterparts, I couldn’t help but agree.

New York Stage Review (Bob Verini): Essentially it’s a hour-long concert … built, as Remy (Tituss Burgess) points out, “with just the right amount of cheese.” … Director Lucy Moss manages to integrate the pieces smoothly, supported by a crackerjack tech team. Special mention ought to be made of Mertzlufft’s musical supervision, the orchestral performances of The Broadway Sinfonietta, and the two-person “Dance Ensemble” of Joy Woods and JJ Niemann. … Whatever one thinks of Ratatouille, it would probably be a mistake to dismiss it as a one-off.

New York Theatre (Jonathan Mandell): Ratatouille is deeply satisfying for a whole host of reasons. Its songs are fun and flavorful Broadway fare, richly orchestrated. The starry cast is terrific.  The dialogue is bright. But its special appeal rests in the exuberance with which it was created. … “I now know that not anyone can cook,” says the critic near the end, “but a great cook can come from anywhere.” The cooks for this musical came from TikTok, with Broadway in their hearts. As many as there are, they don’t spoil this broth; quite the opposite.

New York Times (Jesse Green): Most of what passes for the book … is bald narration delivered directly to the camera to get as quickly as possible from number to number. Luckily, the job of delivering it falls almost entirely on Tituss Burgess, playing Remy in a rat-gray turtleneck; he finds the right throwaway tone for the throwaway material. The rest of the cast … prove expert in the art of the one-song performance. … There may be too many chefs, but they offer, as one character puts it, “just the right amount of cheese.”

Washington Post (Peter Marks): At a running time of 51 minutes … this Ratatouille is a mere appetizer. But with a winning Tituss Burgess as the human embodiment of Remy … it is a promising first course. … “I won’t let a narrow-minded view determine what vermin can do,” Burgess sings, in the musical’s best number, Kate Leonard and Mertzlufft’s “Remember My Name.” It’s a safe bet that as Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical makes its way in the world — digitally or otherwise — the producers will remember his.

Posted in Online, Shows | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Today in Musical History: Galavant

Posted on January 4, 2021 by boz

The musical TV series Galavant premiered Jan. 4, 2015, on ABC. The first season included eight episodes, aired in back-to-back pairs over four weeks. The second (and final) season included 10 episodes, aired in the same pattern. After cancellation, composer Alan Menken tweeted his interest in adapting the show into a Broadway musical, which has not yet happened. The series was primarily filmed in Bottle Yard Studios, Bristol, England, with the life-size reproduction of the Matthew in Bristol’s Floating Harbour serving as Peter the Pillager’s pirate ship. Other filming locations included the Welsh castles in Caldicot and Caerphilly, Berkeley Castle and Wells Cathedral in England, and Cosmeston Medieval Village in Wales. Below is the official trailer for the series. 

The series was created and written by Dan Fogelman, with music and lyrics by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater. Those three had worked together on the 2010 animated Disney film Tangled. They served as executive producers with Chris Koch, Kat Likkel, and John Hoberg. The creative team also included writers Jeremey Hall, Joe Piarulli, Luan Thomas, and Julia Grob as well as Christopher Lennertz (music), Ashley Rowe (cinematography), David L. Bertman (editing), Andrew Lavin (art direction), and Sheena Napier (costumes). The DVD Galavant: The Complete Collection was released Nov. 10, 2017, and is available for streaming at Amazon Prime, Google Play, YouTube, iTunes, and Vudu.

Menken and Slater received a 2016 Emmy nomination in Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for the song “A New Season!” from the second season’s opening episode, “A New Season aka Suck It Cancellation Bear,” which you can watch below. The official soundtrack for the first season was released  Jan. 19, 2015, on iTunes. The  official soundtrack for the second season was released Jan. 29, 2016, on iTunes.

The cast included Joshua Sasse (Sir Galavant), Timothy Omundson (King Richard), Mallory Jansen (Queen Madalena), Karen David (Princess Isabella), Luke Youngblood (Sid), Vinnie Jones (Gareth), Darren Evans (Vincenzo), Sophie McShera (Gwynne), Clare Foster (Robert Steinglass), Hugh Bonneville (Peter the Pillager), and Ben Presley (Jester Steve). Other recurring characters and cameo appearances were sung by Ricky Gervais (Xanax), Robert Lindsay (Chester Wormwood), Kylie Minogue (Queen of The Enchanted Forest), Faith Prince and Michael Brandon (Sid’s parents), and Al Yankovic (Head Monk), among others.

Posted in History, Reference | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Broadway Birthday: Justin Paul

Posted on January 3, 2021 by boz

Happy Birthday to award-winning writer Justin Paul, born Jan. 3, 1985, in St. Louis. He graduated with a bachelor’s in musical theater from University of Michigan, where he met his writing partner Benj Pasek. While at college, the duo wrote the song cycle Edges. After school, they wrote songs for Disney Channel series Johnny and the Sprites and a musical adaptation of James and the Giant Peach. In 2012, the writing team made their Broadway debut with the musical adaptation of A Christmas Story, earning a Tony nomination, and their Off-Broadway debut with the musical adaptation of Dogfight, earning a Lortel Award. (You can read my interview with Pasek & Paul at Dramatics.)

Below is Ana Gasteyer with Andy Walken and Sammy Ramirez in the Emmy-nominated song “In the Market for a Miracle,” from the 2017 live TV broadcast of the A Christmas Story, and Lindsay Mendez and Derek Klena in “First Date / Last Night” from Dogfight.

https://youtu.be/5Gk5vrikpUo

In 2017, Pasek & Paul had another pair of high profile shows. They wrote songs for the film musical La La Land, earning a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. Later that year, their stage show Dear Evan Hansen opened on Broadway, following its Off-Broadway and regional productions, earning them an Obie, Tony, Grammy, and Oliver for their score. Below is Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in the Oscar-winning song “City of Stars,” and Ben Platt and the Dear Evan Hansen cast in “Waving Through a Window” at the Tonys.

https://youtu.be/h9rf5wFq3zk

More recently, Pasek & Paul contributed songs to the film musical The Greatest Showman, earning Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. Below is Keala Settle and the film cast in the nominated song “This Is Me.”

Posted in People, Writers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment