Happy birthday to Tony-winning performer Renée Elise Goldsberry, born Jan. 2, 1971, in San Jose, Calif. She earned her bachelor’s in theater from Carnegie Mellon in 1993 and her master’s in jazz from USC in 1997. That year, Goldsberry moved to New York, making her TV debut in Elmo’s Coloring Book. In 1997, she also secured a recurring role as one of Vonda Shepard’s back-up singers on Ally McBeal, reprising her role as an Ikette in the spin-off series Ally. While in those series, she also had a recurring role in the soap opera One Life to Live, for which she earned two daytime Emmy nominations.
Goldsberry made her Broadway debut as Nala in The Lion King and her Off-Broadway debut as Silvia in the 2005 revival of Two Gentlemen of Verona, for which she received a Drama League nomination. She returned to Broadway in The Color Purple, then took over the role of Mimi in Rent, which was taped for television. Below is Goldsberry in “Out Tonight” from that 2008 broadcast.
In the past decade, she’s had a recurring role on the TV drama The Good Wife and created the role of Angelica Schuyler in the Off-Broadway production of Hamilton, which she followed to Broadway. For her performance in that musical, she won Drama Desk, Lortel, Tony, and Grammy awards. Below is Goldsberry and the Hamilton cast in “Satisfied.”
Most recently, she joined the cast of the musical TV series Zooey’s Extraordinary Playlist. Below is Goldsberry and Lauren Graham in “The Boy Is Mine” from the series.
Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway, George M. Cohan’s sixth Broadway musical, opened Jan. 1, 1906, at the New Amsterdam Theatre and ran for 90 performances, closing March 17. It reopened November 5 at the New York Theatre with the cast almost unchanged and played an additional 32 performances, closing December 1. Its only Broadway revival was in 1912 at the Cohan Theatre, where it ran for 36 performances with Cohan in the leading role. The creative team for the original production, presented by Theatrical Syndicate founders A.L. Erlanger and Marc Klaw, included Cohan (book, music, lyrics, direction), Frederic Solomon (music direction), F. Richard Anderson (costumes), and John H. Young, Ernest Albert and Frank Marsden (sets).
The cast included Fay Templeton (Mary Jane Jenkins), Victor Moore (Kid Burns), Donald Brian (Tom Bennet), and Lois Ewell (Flora Dora Dean). The show contains only five songs, but they are some of Cohan’s best-known tunes, including “So Long Mary,” introduced by Templeton, and the title song, introduced by Moore, who was appearing in his first Broadway musical. Below is the chorus of the 1942 film Yankee Doodle Dandy, featuring Irene Manning as Fay Templeton in recreations of “Forty-five Minutes from Broadway (reprise) / So Long Mary,” supervised by George M. Cohan himself.
As previously announced, Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley will adapt the book, with Six co-creator Lucy Moss providing the direction and Ellenore Scott the choreography. The score will include songs from Danny Bernstein, Gabbi Bolt, Kevin Chamberlin, RJ Christian, Nathan Fosbinder, Emily Jacobsen, Sophia James, Katie Johantgen, Daniel Mertzlufft, Alec Powell, and Blake Rouse, with additional lyrics by Kate Leonard. Mertzlufft will also serve as music supervisor, with Macy Schmidt as orchestrator, David Bengali as video and production designer, Emily Marshall as music director, Jessie Rosso and Geoffrey Ko as music copiers, Angie Teo as audio mixer, and Cody Renard Richard as stage manager.
The event will stream Jan. 1, 2021, at 7 p.m. (ET) on TodayTix. Click here to purchase your view on demand.
The New York Times has reported that Tony-winning producer Roger Berlind died December 18. Born June 27, 1930, in New York City, Berlind’s first career was in songwriting. Not finding success, he co-founded a Wall Street brokerage firm. However, after a 1975 plane crash killed his wife and three of their four children, he gave theater another try. His first production was the 1976 musical Rex, which closed after only 48 performances on Broadway. He continued with productions of Music Is, The Merchant, Diversions and Delights, The 1940’s Radio Hour, The Lady from Dubuque, and Passione before seeing success with Peter Shaffer’s play Amadeus, which won five 1981 Tony Awards, including Best Play. Berlind would win another 24 Tonys, and in 2009, he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. He is survived by his wife Brook, son William, and three granddaughters. Below is Berlind with colleagues Margo Lion, Jeffrey Richards, and Jeffrey Seller in the 2008 roundtable “Producing Broadway” for the American Theatre Wing’s Working in the Theatre series.
Berlind’s Tony-winning musical productions include Nine (1982),Jerome Robbins’ Broadway (1989), City of Angels (1990), Guys and Dolls (1992 revival), Passion (1994), Kiss Me, Kate (2000 revival), Book of Mormon (2011), Hello, Dolly! (2017 revival), Dear Evan Hansen (2017), and Oklahoma! (2019 revival). His other Tony-nominated musical productions include Sophisticated Ladies (1981), Big Deal (1986), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (1989 revival), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1996 revival), The Life (1997), Steel Pier (1997), The Wild Party (2000), Wonderful Town (2004 revival), Caroline, or Change (2004), Curtains (2007), Gypsy (2008 revival), Ragtime (2010 revival), A Little Night Music (2010 revival), Nice Work If You Can Get It (2012), Annie (2013 revival), An American in Paris (2015), Shuffle Along (2016), and Mean Girls (2018). Below is the cast of Nine (Berlind’s first musical win) at the 1982 Tonys.
Tony-nominated performer Rebecca Luker died December 23 due to complications from ALS, a diagnosis she received only last year. Born April 17, 1961, in Birmingham, Ala., Luker earned a bachelor’s in music from University of Montevallo, taking a year off during her schooling to perform Johanna in Sweeney Todd at Michigan Opera Theatre. She made her Broadway debut in 1988 as an understudy in The Phantom of the Opera, eventually taking over the lead role of Christine Daaé, opposite Michael Crawford, within a year. In 1991, she created the role of Lily in The Secret Garden, earning her first Drama Desk nomination. Below is Luker and Mandy Patinkin in “How Could I Ever Know.”
In 1994, she played Magnolia in Hal Prince’s revival of Show Boat, earning her first Tony nomination. She returned to Broadway as Maria in the 1998 revival of The Sound of Music, then as Marian the Librarian in the 2000 revival of The Music Man, earning her second Tony and Drama Desk nominations. Below is Luker with Lonette McKee and Gretha Boston in “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” at the 1995 Tony Awards.
She succeeded Laura Benanti as Claudia in the 2003 revival of Nine, then earned her third Tony nomination for playing Winifred Banks in the 2006 Broadway premiere of Mary Poppins. She stayed with that production for much of its run, moving to the Off-Broadway world premiere of Death Takes a Holiday in 2011, for which she received an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination. Below is Luker and The Sound of Music cast at the 1998 Tony Awards.
https://youtu.be/q7EDJRZLx7E
Luker returned to Broadway twice more, succeeding Victoria Clark as the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella and temporarily replacing Judy Kuhn as Helen in Fun Home. She is survived by her husband, performer Danny Burstein, and their two sons, Zachary and Alexander.
This holiday season, Kris Kringle: The Musical has been releasing a series of free online videos, which will culminate in a full-length online production on Christmas Day. Since December 1, the show’s Advent calendar has offered daily installments of the story about the young Kris Kringle. It’s the tale of an evil toy company CEO who crosses paths with a starry-eyed, jobless toymaker whose family name carries a curse with the power to destroy Christmas, but Kris Kringle joins Santa and Mrs. Claus, Evelyn Noel, and band of apprentices, elves, and magical toys to remind us about the true meaning of Christmas.
The creative team includes Maria Ciampi (book, lyrics), Tim Janis and Angelo Natalie (music, lyrics), Jaimie Selke (direction), Randy Glass (music direction), Inda Blatch-Geib (costumes), and John Narun (animation). The cast, who all rehearsed and recorded remotely from home, includes Kyle Sherman (Kris Kringle), Jason Simon (Santa), Kim Crosby (Mrs. Claus), and Amy Coelho (Evelyn Noel).
Donations made through the show’s website will support The Actors Fund, which provides entertainment professionals with social services, emergency financial assistance, health care, insurance counseling, housing, and secondary employment and training services.
You can create your own songs with the free Blob Opera, a machine-learning experiment created by David Li with Google Arts & Culture, modeled on the voices of opera singers Olivia Doutney (soprano), Joanna Gamble (mezzo), Christian Joel (tenor), and Frederick Tong (bass), who provided 16 hours of recorded material, with additional singing from soprano Ingunn Gyda Hrafnkelsdottir and baritone John Holland-Avery. As Li explains, “You don’t hear their voices, but the machine-learning model’s understanding of what opera singing sounds like, based on what it learned from them.” Below is a short tutorial on how to create your first song using Blob Opera.
You drag the blobs up and down to change pitch, forwards and backwards to change vowel sounds. The three blobs you’re not controlling will harmonize in real time, as their eyes pinwheel. You can disable each blob’s audio to create solos, duets, and trios. You can also record and share your song. And if you click the Christmas tree icon, the blobs will serenade you with a popular Christmas carol. Below, Li explains how he created Blob Opera. You should also visit the interactive choir that Li created for Adult Swim.
The Pixar-animated musical feature Soul has received mostly positive reviews from critics. The film concerns Joe, a middle-school band teacher who gets the chance to play at the best jazz club in town, but a misstep takes him from the streets of New York to the Great Before, where new souls get their personalities before they go to Earth. Determined to return to life, Joe teams with a precocious soul, 22, who doesn’t understand the appeal of being human. As Joe tries to show 22 what’s great about living, he explores life’s most important questions.
The creative team includes Kemp Powers and Pete Docter (direction, screenplay), Mike Jones (screenplay), Jon Batiste (music, arrangements), Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (music), Matt Aspbury and Ian Megibben (cinematography), Kevin Nolting (editing), Steve Pilcher (production design), and Paul Avadilla (art direction). The cast includes Jamie Foxx (Joe), Tina Fey (22), Questlove (Curly), Phylicia Rashad (Libba), Daveed Diggs (Paul), Angela Bassett (Dorothea Williams), Graham Norton (Moonwind), Rachel House (Terry), Richard Ayoade (Jerry), Alice Braga (Jerry), and Wes Studi (Jerry). The film will begin streaming Dec. 25 on Disney+.
New Statesman (Ryan Gilbey): Most of the script’s ideas are recycled … but Soul has its own visual elegance, and an appealing line in pet-based humor. I’ll treasure the image of the sprawling feline cat-spreading in its subway seat more than I will the “life’s what you make it” message, or the vocal contributions of Graham Norton and Richard Ayoade, which introduce notes of smugness into the Pixar soundscape.
New York Post (Johnny Oleksinski): 3.5 of 4 stars. Why artists keep pounding the pavement despite never finding commercial success is a meaty topic. So is a reluctant teacher coming to realize that encouraging talent is his natural gift — one that few people have. Many adults will surely contemplate their own lives … and, for the littlest viewers, there are fun, happy blobs.
Observer (Brandon Katz): 3 of 4 stars. Soul … is the next chapter in Pixar’s journey, a whimsical and poignant metaphor for why we’re all here in the first place. Like Coco, Soul asks its young audience to confront the real issue of our own mortality. … Soul may not coalesce quite as cleanly as some of its predecessors … but its big-hearted warmth and mature focus feel at once both new and familiar.
Roger Ebert (Matt Zoller Seitz ): 3 of 4 stars. Pixar has never released a flat-out bad film. And this is a good one: pleasant and clever, with a generous heart, committed voice acting, and some of the kookiest images in Pixar history. … It’s the most unapologetically Black Pixar project yet released. … This distinction gives weight to lines that might not have registered in a Pixar film with white protagonists.
Slate (Dan Kois): It’s in the movie’s most personal and specific storytelling beats — its interaction with Black culture —that Soul delivers more potent storytelling. … It’s packed with great jokes … and great music. … Like every Pixar movie, it’s entertaining, sharp, and visually inventive. But it lacks the thunderbolts of creativity that make the company’s best philosophical inquiries so electrifying. It never quite finds its spark.
Vanity Fair (Sonya Saraiya): The film manages to be heartwarming and thoughtful about aging and mortality regardless, moving Joe’s character away from his single-minded pursuit and toward a more holistic idea of what he’s accomplished in his life. … Despite some distraction and not quite enough music, Soul manages to tap into deep emotion as its characters explore the limits of mortality and what it means to be passionate about life.
The British production of David Bowie’s last musical, based on The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis, will be available for streaming Jan. 8-10, 2021, on Dice.fm. Bowie had starred in the 1976 film adaptation of the novel. The musical premiered Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop on Dec. 7, 2015, and made its British premiere at King’s Cross Theatre in London’s Off-West End on Nov. 8, 2016. The creative team is David Bowie (music, lyrics), Enda Walsh (book), Ivo van Hove (direction), Henry Hey (music direction, orchestrations, arrangements), Annie-B Parson (choreography), Jan Versweyveld (sets, lights), An D’Huys (costumes), Tal Yarden (video), Brian Ronan and Tony Gayle (sound), and Richard Mawbey (hair & wigs).
The London cast was Michael C. Hall (Thomas Jerome Newton), Amy Lennox (Newton’s assistant Elly), Sophia Anne Caruso (Newton’s muse), Michael Esper (Valentine), and Jamie Muscato (Ben), with Gabrielle Brooks, Sydnie Christmas, Richard Hansell, Maimuna Memon, Tom Parsons and Julie Yammanee. Hall, Caruso, and Esper were also in the original New York cast. Click here for tickets.
Seaview Productions has named the creative team for Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical. Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley will adapt the book, with Six co-creator Lucy Moss providing the direction and Ellenore Scott the choreography. The score will include songs from Danny Bernstein, Gabbi Bolt, Kevin Chamberlin, RJ Christian, Nathan Fosbinder, Emily Jacobsen, Sophia James, Katie Johantgen, Daniel Mertzlufft, Alec Powell, and Blake Rouse, with additional lyrics by Kate Leonard. Mertzlufft will also serve as music supervisor, with Macy Schmidt as orchestrator, David Bengali as video and production designer, Emily Marshall as music director, Jessie Rosso and Geoffrey Ko as music copiers, Angie Teo as audio mixer, and Cody Renard Richard as stage manager. Casting, overseen by Taylor Williams, remains to be announced, but the Broadway cast will be supported by the all-female, majority BIPOC Broadway Sinfonietta orchestra. As previously announced, the event will stream Jan. 1, 2021, at 7 p.m. (ET) on TodayTix. Click here to purchase your view on demand. Below is YouTuber McDermo’s proposed running order of the “full soundtrack.”
Happy birthday to Tony-winning performer Renée Elise Goldsberry, born Jan. 2, 1971, in San Jose, Calif. She earned her bachelor’s in theater from Carnegie Mellon in 1993 and her master’s in jazz from USC in 1997. That year, Goldsberry moved to New York, making her TV debut in Elmo’s Coloring Book. In 1997, she also secured a recurring role as one of Vonda Shepard’s back-up singers on Ally McBeal, reprising her role as an Ikette in the spin-off series Ally. While in those series, she also had a recurring role in the soap opera One Life to Live, for which she earned two daytime Emmy nominations.
