CASTING: The Submission & Wild Animals You Should Know

NOTE: This article has been updated from its original posting.  An error was found and reported by a reader - THANK YOU!  It has been corrected and is in RED below.

If you follow this blog somewhat regularly, you know that one of my goals over the last year has been to expand my theater-going horizons beyond Broadway musicals and high profile plays.  More regular attendance at off-Broadway and regional theatres is on my agenda.  So far so good... Death Takes a Holiday and Lysistrata Jones have proven that the quality and star power of Broadway can and does exist beyond Times Square.

This season, I got a subscription to MCC Theater mainly because I really wanted to see Carrie, the fateful Broadway musical flop of legend.  Given that it is to star one of my favorite actresses, Marin Mazzie, it was a no-brainer.  And it was actually only a few more dollars to subscribe to the whole season than to try and buy whatever was left over ticket-wise for Carrie.  Both plays, The Submission and Wild Animals You Should Know, had me with their plot synopses on the company website.  The former, about making art and identity and race sounded right up my alley.  The former sounded intriguing, creepy and definitely interesting.  The casting for both (Wild Animals was just announced yesterday) really has me even more excited about both world premiere plays.  Talk about top-notch actors and directors!

The Submission's Logo Photo
From MCC Theater

The Submission, currently in previews toward a September 27th opening, plays through October 22.  The cast is just four, but really represents the current generation of actors who embrace theatre just as they do television and film work.  I think we are all the better for it, too.  The immediate draw for me was Glee and Spring Awakening star Jonathan Groff, a young actor whose career I have followed since seeing Spring Awakening off-Broadway (go figure).  I have yet to see him in anything where I didn't enjoy his work.  I think he has an honesty and vulnerability that appeals to me.  Eddie Kaye Thomas, whose work in the funny, if not terribly brilliant film series American Pie is all I have seen.  But his work on stage has been well-received, including Broadway's Four Baboons Adoring the Sun and The Diary of Anne Frank, as well as off-Broadway's Dog Sees God. 

A scene from The Submission.  (L to R) Eddie Kaye Thomas,
Jonathan Groff, Rutina Wesley, Will Rogers
Photo by Joan Marcus

And I have never seen a single second of HBO's True Blood, but mention Rutina Wesley to anyone who has seen it, and their eyes light up.  So, I am curious to see how good she will be, not that I really doubt it.  The final actor in this four-hander, Will Rogers, is making quite a name for himself quickly, having co-starred in this summer's Unnatural Acts, the critically acclaimed, oft-extended play about the underground gay scene in 1920's Harvard.  Doesn't sound like it can lose, cast-wise, and a world premiere play by a young writer, Jeff Talbott, who was awarded by no less than the late Arthur Laurents, can't be all that bad, either, right?  And Walter Bobbie of Chicago fame is directing.  I think you can probably understand why I am looking forward to seeing this show in early October.

With the announcement yesterday of the final casting of Wild Animals You Should Know, another world premiere by a newer playwright, Thomas Higgins, I am really looking forward to seeing this play in late fall.  Daniel Stewart Sherman is a respected regional actor, while John Behlman is a veteran of The 39 Steps, and these are just the supporting roles! 

Patrick Breen and Alice Ripley

The drama surrounding two young men on a scout camping trip (press materials use words and phrases like "cat-and-mouse," "intrigue and deception," and "innocently erotic game."  The final sentence of the play description really makes this sound mysterious and even dangerous: "But Matthew has secretly decided just how far he's willing to go for his final act of scouting and everyone might do well to heed the scouts' motto: Be Prepared."

Gideon Glick and Jay Armstrong Johnson

Patrick Breen of Next Fall and The Normal Heart on Broadway, is a co-founder of MCC.  He plays the father of one of the boys.  The young men are being played by up and comers Gideon Glick and Jay Armstrong Johnson.  I have enjoyed the work of both actors: Glick in Spring Awakening and in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (Version 1.0), and Johnson in the National Tour of A Chorus Line and his very first performance as Claude in Hair (It was the fourth preview and he was going on almost unrehearsed for Gavin Creel.  He was TERRIFIC!) And as the mother, Alice Ripley!  I cannot wait to see her act in a straight role; I'm sure she will be intense and fierce.

Glick, far left, with the original Geek Chorus from
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark

The First National Tour of A Chorus Line
Jay Armstring Johnson is third from right.
Photo by Paul Kolnik

Wild Animals You Should Know begins previews November 3rd, opens November 20th, with a scheduled closing of December 11.

To find out more about these plays, click HERE.


Rate this blog below, leaving any comments here, or by email at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com, or Tweet me!
Jeff
3.019

BLOG JACK: Brantley on the Empty Stage

Today, I read September 8th's Theater Talkback by The New York Times' Ben Brantley with some interest.  It is called "When a Bare Stage Fills the Theatre."  I was particularly drawn to this article because, as any of my theatre-going friends will tell you, my mantra for theatre is "Always remember that the Greeks did it on a stone slab with a mask, the sun and a toga!"

I say this very thing when we can't agree on the quality of a new show.  Would this show ultimately be as good if it were stripped down to the actors on the stage and nothing else?  Are the words and performances enough to engage the audience and entertain them? 

• This discussion happened several times this past Broadway season.  Needless to say, it was shows like Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, both of which I saw early in previews, and before the ensuing onslaught of press for both shows.  And we agreed that as it was, The Scottsboro Boys - devoid of fancy costumes and scenery, but full of theatrical ingenuity - proved my point exactly.

I say this when we wonder if the show is a triumph of staging and spectacle over story.  Does too much of the meaning rely on the visual created by the designers, the choreographer and the director?  Or has the director and choreographer done enough, that if stripped of lights, scenery and costumes, and only the script to rely on, to still give us a full show?

• My mantra reared its sage head once again when we discussed Wonderland - the answer? No.  In fact, it was so over produced that it all but obscured the story and characters.  And again with The Book of Mormon - the answer? Absolutely.  That show would still be as funny, poignant and entertaining if the Eugene O'Neill Theatre had a blackout and all the costumes and scenery were stolen.

• I recall the oddest experience of my theatre-going life.  In 2002, the Box Office Union was on strike at a theater that hosts national tours.  I don't remember the exact politics of it, but it boiled down to this:  an agreement was struck, but too late for everything to be loaded into the theatre for that week's first show.  Actors Equity allowed the performers to go on, while the ITASE unions told its workers to do as much as they could to help, but and not unload the sets, lights or costumes until that evening.  The show was 42nd Street, a show that definitely relies on the visual spectacle of lavish sets, lights and costumes.  Dying to see how it would play out, and with nothing to lose (I could not exchange my tickets for another performance that week), I stayed and watched the show on the very bare stage, on/off lights and street clothes of the performers that my mantra speaks of.  Imagine the opening number or "We're In the Money" without tap shoes, or "The Shadow Waltz" without shadows!  And yet, watching the whole thing play out was absolutely mesmerizing.  And the story, now the focus, was actually much more interesting than I had ever remembered it being.  It is also the only show I have ever attended where the act one finale got a full audience standing ovation, and, until Patti LuPone's "Rose's Turn," the only time a mid-show number got a standing ovation, which happened after the title number.  It was exciting and an event I will never forget it.  And it was nice to have my saying validated. 

And I say this to friends who attend local, necessarily low budget, and lift their noses in their as they go in, expecting the least.  I always take great pleasure in their shock and awe when such a show is success.  Clearly, a silk purse has been made from a sow's ear.

Ben Brantley discusses several shows that benefit and thrive from a bare stage in his blog - Our Town, all of the original Globe Theatre productions of William Shakespeare's plays among them.  And he brings up Chicago's current staging by Walter Bobbie and Ann Reinking.  Boy, is he ever right!  Less is so much more in this case.  And it brought immediately to my mind the other great American musical in the long-run gallery, A Chorus Line, a show that, except for the last 3 or 4 minutes, not only thrives on a bare stage, but requires it.  For all of their spectacle and excess, would the three longest-running shows - Les Miserables, Cats and The Phantom of the Opera really have been as successful without "stuff"?  Brantley and I agree: probably not.  But it would be interesting to see Cats under the same circumstances as when I saw 42nd Street.

I disagree with Mr. Brantley more often than I agree.  But he and I see eye to eye on this point:  good acting and thoughtful staging coupled with a good script can be as magical as a stage full of scenery and actors flying right over our heads.



Rate this blog below, leaving your comments here, by email at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com, or Tweet me!
Jeff
3.012

By THE BOOK: The Spread OF MORMON-ism

It really is a phenomenon.  At least on paper and implementation, Broadway, at long last has an American hit of national proportions!  No, not the web slinger.  Those humble, cute and wearers of black ties and name tags are slowly, but surely, taking over the nation's theatres.  I am speaking, of course, of The Book of Mormon.

I think you'd have to go back as far as A Chorus Line and Annie for an American musical to take this country by storm.  Those shows hit Broadway and they were EVERYWHERE.  Magazine covers, variety shows, the news... people who knew nothing about Broadway or theatre knew the songs "One" and "Tomorrow."  Very shortly after both of those shows swept the Tonys, National Tours sprang up and brought the phenomenon to the people.

Now remember, those shows became a huge deal when most of the country was just getting cable television, the Internet didn't exist, and neither did any form of social media.  Heck, you could only get tickets by mail, by phone or at the box office!

So, maybe the "power" of Mormon isn't actually quite as huge.  I mean it is easier for those of us in the sticks to find out about shows, see clips on YouTube, go to show websites and Tweet our fingers off.

You might be thinking, "Well, Cats, Les Miz and Phantom all became national sensations."  Sure they did.  But they also came with the momentum of big success in London.  And all three rewrote the book on advertising, merchandising and iconography.  They also were in the forefront of all the new media age, every step of the way. Personal computers, the Internet, DVD - you name it, if it was new and a way to get the word out to the masses they did it.  And all Broadway shows owe them a debt of gratitude for their pioneering work.

Maybe the closest we've come between Annie  and Mormon is The Producers, certainly a Broadway juggernaut, winning the most Tonys ever, and starting the whole Premium seat thing (not really a positive in my mind).  But, as we have since learned, perhaps it was really the superb original cast that made that show work, let alone be "great."  There were a couple of tours, and a healthy Broadway run.  But it surely didn't meet predictions.  It didn't even come close.

Which brings me back to those Mormon boys... so far they are doing everything they can to rewrite the success handbook.  They capitalize on their South Park roots, but without ever alienating those of us who aren't fans of that TV show.  They give away theatres full of free tickets, recognizing their biggest fans in the process.  They gave away the cast recording by having NPR play it and have it available to hear for free.  Then, they gave it away for a mere 99 cents on Amazon.com.  And they are doing the TV circuit, but doling it out slowly.  No stink of desperation here...

Now comes news that the First National Tour will start 4 months early.  Yes, early.  And that Chicago will get its own Mormon company.  I have a feeling a third company isn't so far behind, either. 

OK, maybe the whole country can't hum "I Believe" like they could "One" or "Tomorrow."  And maybe they aren't based on a Disney film or a hit from London with a snazzy logo.  But it is one Broadway show that has hit the big time by the truest measure I know.

If my sports fanatic dad in Florida has heard about it and can speak knowledgeably about any aspect of it, then it is a national Broadway hit.  And just the other day, my dad asked me, "Have you seen that Mormon show?  I hear it is pretty funny.  Is it true Darth Vader is in it?"  Welcome to the big time, Elders Cunningham and Price.


Rate this blog below and leave your comments here, by email at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com or Tweet me!
Jeff
3.011

RANT and RAVE: The Replacements

This week, two high profile cast replacements were named for two hit Broadway shows.  One of them was so high profile, it was on the news!  When was the last time THAT happened (Spider-Man, not withstanding)?

The first, though, came the announcement that Adam Pascal would be replacing Tony-nominee Chad Kimball at the end of October in 2010's Best Musical, Memphis.  My first thought was, "really??"  I mean, there is no doubt that Pascal is talented and is a near expert in conveying chemistry.  Look at him and Daphne Ruben-Vega in RENT (or with Anthony Rapp) for that matter.  Or he and his AIDA co-star, Heather Headley - smoking hot and romantic, too!  That look in the final scene...mmmmm.  Yes. Mr. Pascal should have no trouble with the smouldering sexy chemistry with equally sexy and smouldering Montego Glover.

I guess I'm having trouble picturing the quirky, vulnerable, innocent-yet-worldly-wise Huey Calhoun in Adam Pascal.  Of course, he is an actor, a very good one, even if his prior roles have a certain similarity that is not really in this new character.  I guess I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.  Just as I did with Kristin Chenoweth when she departed from her "norm" and tackled (beautifully, in my opinion) a challenging out of the box role.  Instead, maybe I should wish him well and warn him that as much as critics (and some fans) bemoan the fact that actors rarely venture beyond the expected, they rarely embrace the brave ones that do.  Good luck!

The really high profile replacement announcement came today at a press conference live from Sardi's.  Looks like Nick Jonas will be Daniel Radcliffe's permanent replacement in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.  It is also now clear that producers are looking to fill the seats at the Hirschfeld with Tweens and their parents.

Let's not forget that the first replacement is actually Glee's Darren Criss, who will also appeal to the tween set, just as Radcliffe did before, and Jonas will after.  But there is a bit of an error in thinking here, and it has nothing whatsoever to do how well all three of them do or will do in the role.  I adored Mr. Radcliffe in the role, and have no doubt that both Mr. Criss and Mr. Jonas will do just fine, finding their own way with the role.

The error in thinking, I think, is that tweens and their parents will embrace these newcomers in the same magnitude, i.e. SRO crowds.  Radcliffe has something neither Criss nor Jonas has: international stardom cultivated by over a decade of growing up before our very eyes in the most successful movie franchise, based on the most popular book series of all time.  He played a character on film that kids and their parents read in those books.  Arguably as many adults kept up with Harry Potter as their kids did.  The appeal of Daniel Radcliffe is multi-generational, backed up by a star turn performance.

A pair of Finches: Darren Criss and Nick Jonas

Criss, with just a three week run, should draw the hordes of Glee-Kurt/Blaine fans, keeping interest and numbers high.  And, to some extent, Glee fans are multi-generational just as Potter fans are.  I bring this up because IF tweens are the target audience, someone has to BRING them to the theatre.  Radcliffe and Criss give parents as much reason to come to the show.  Now, I admit I know the least about the current appeal of Nick Jonas.  How much appeal does he have without his other brothers?  How much will his performance in Les Miserables, which divided fans and critics alike, effect the B.O. for H2$?  Will parents want to sit through the show just to keep their kids happy?  And does Jonas have the same appeal/acceptance by tween boys AND girls as Radcliffe?

Since Mr. Jonas has the most Broadway experience of the three  - he's been on the boards in Annie Get Your Gun, Beauty and the Beast and Les Miserables - I don't think his ability onstage is even a question.  But I do wonder about his ability to draw news-making crowds.

All bets are off if they can find a nostalgic appeal for the parents when the recast John Larroquette.
Do you plan to see Adam, Darren and/or Nick?  Write in and let us know!


Rate this blog below and leave your comments here, by email at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com or Tweet me!
Jeff
3.009

Broadway Jigsaw Puzzles III: Goodbye!

Here are three more theatre-related jigsaw puzzles, this time with the common theme that they are from shows that close today.  Click on the links to start each puzzle.  Enjoy!

Jigsaw Puzzle #7 (70 pieces)

The Off-Broadway cast of Death Takes a Holiday.  The Roundabout Theatre Company production was preserved on an original cast recording, due to be released later this fall.

Jigsaw Puzzle #8 (100 pieces)

Baby It's You told the story of Florence Greenberg and The Shirelles.  Oldies but goodies flowed in this jukebox musical, which closed at the Broadhurst Theatre today.

Jigsaw Puzzle #9 (117 pieces)

Catch Me If You Can, which closes today, featured a slick and sleek logo on its Playbill cover.

Rate this blog below, and leave your comments her, by email at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com, or Tweet me!

Jeff

3.006

CD REVIEW: Catch Me If You Can

My favorite musical of the 2010 - 2011 season, Catch Me If You Can will close this Sunday after a mere 32 previews and 166 performances.  I found it to be elegant, smart and sexy.  I love shows that offer a challenge along with the obvious entertainment.  Everyone involved offered up just that, theatricalizing a book, film and actual life story.  I found the show's framework - a 60's style variety show - to be a fitting and theatrical way of telling an epic cat and mouse game in a way that made it all work in just over two hours.  The direction was sleek, fast-paced, and, despite knowing how it all turns out before the show even starts, managed to keep you on the edge of your seat.   The score, matching the show's time and framework, is equally challenging and high quality, and that is the subject of my review today.

Grade: A+

Title: Catch Me If You Can
Artist: Original Broadway Cast Recording
Label: Ghostlight Records
Number: 8-4449
Format: Single CD
Case: Single Jewel Case
Booklet: Full color production photos; complete lyrics; essays by Frank Abagnale, Jr.
Bonus: Extra track of a song cut from the show, "Fifty Checks," sung by Tom Wopat.

Aaron Tveit and Norbert Leo Butz

Of the Show and Its Stars, I Wrote: "If history is any guide, I’m pretty sure critics will be divided on this show, but don’t wait for a revival 10 years from now at Encores! to decide that this show works brilliantly on every level. See it now, and soak it all in. With The Book of Mormon, we have a celebrated meta-musical comedy; with Catch Me If You Can, we have a superb concept musical.  And who better to take us there than almost the entire creative team of the blockbuster musical Hairspray, which itself took the traditional form to new comedic and socially important heights? Yes, composers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman have re-joined forces with director and choreography dream team Jack O’Brien and Jerry Mitchell, who have in turn re-joined with designers David Rockwell (sets), William Ivey Long (costumes), and Kenneth Posner (lighting) to create a completely different world than they took us to before. (Beyond the people themselves, there really is no other valid comparison to Hairspray – to come in expecting that would be like expecting King Lear to be anything like The Odd Couple. Both shows are great on their own.) This world that is as debonair and sleek as a 60’s new Boeing 727, full of innocent double entendres, sexy chorus girls and boys seemingly unaware of, yet basking in, their own steaming hotness, and a juicy story about getting away with everything but murder and coming out on top. All played to a soundtrack (not literally: the magnificent orchestra is in full view nearly all the time) of suave Sinatra-esque songs, and a cheeky modern jazz score that titillates as much as it pleases the ear.

"Live in Living Color"

"It isn’t often that you come across a love triangle involving three men, but that is the real meat of this story. And how amazing it is that all three are being given such grand treatment in three Tony-worthy performances. Tom Wopat gets the lion’s share of the heavy emotional content in this show. We see a man who really only wants to make life better for his wife and son, but can’t see that living by such credos as “The Pinstripes Are All They See” as a way to get around authority, and such platitudes as “Don’t Be a Stranger” and “Little Boy, Be a Man,” aren’t really the stuff of good parenting.  Then there is the honorable life led by FBI Agent Carl Hanratty, warmly played – through a veneer of g-man stiffness – by Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz.  We see the workings of the FBI as frustrating as they are through “Don’t Break the Rules,” and a little inside the man as he tries to out think his con man adversary in “The Man Inside the Clues.”   Aaron Tveit has found the first role, of many one hopes, that proves he can carry a show on his considerably young and talented shoulders. He has turned in a thoroughly engaging, exciting performance as Frank, Jr. It is a role that has huge demands in the singing (his big closer “Good-Bye” is a huge power belt number in the greatest Broadway tradition), dancing (he matches the entire ensemble step for step) and acting areas. We must believe he is smart way beyond his years, mature enough to make smart people believe he could be a pilot or doctor, charming and sexy enough to bed Playboy bunnies, and charismatic enough to woo an innocent girl, her family and a grizzled FBI agent. Tveit has the charming, sexy and high quality singing voice down pat. But this role shows that he is a true triple threat. With Catch Me If You Can he is a full-fledged Broadway star."

"Doctor's Orders" and "Jet Set"

Of the Score, I Wrote: "This world that is as debonair and sleek as a 60’s new Boeing 727, full of innocent double entendres, sexy chorus girls and boys seemingly unaware of, yet basking in, their own steaming hotness, and a juicy story about getting away with everything but murder and coming out on top. All played to a soundtrack (not literally: the magnificent orchestra is in full view nearly all the time) of suave Sinatra-esque songs, and a cheeky modern jazz score that titillates as much as it pleases the ear.   The homey sweetness of the production numbers from weekly variety shows of the Perry Como/Lawrence Welk ilk, as well as the sexy, dazzling, send-the-kids-to-bed-before-it-starts variety shows that were star vehicles for one performer – like Mitzi Gaynor, and later, Liza Minnelli. You know just the kind of numbers I mean – a common setting, a risqué arrangement of a familiar tune, and costumed dancers in the tightest possible versions of setting appropriate costumes, with the star bedazzled in sequins from head to toe. Each number is carefully constructed to please everyone – the song lover, the singer lover, and the blush inducing dancer lovers. The show has an abundance of such numbers – the airline-themed “The Jet Set,” and the hospital-themed “Doctor’s Orders” – to name but two."

Of this Recording, I say: First and foremost, I think all of us who love musical theatre need to thank Ghostlight Records for recording so many shows that not too long ago would have gone by the wayside.  Catch Me If You Can, with its short run, would probably have gone without a cast recording.  As usual, Ghostlight has delivered a top notch product, from the full color booklet to a terrific sound.
Marc Shaiman and Larry Blank's vibrant orchestrations, under the direction of John McDaniel sound simply gorgeous, played by a full jazz orchestra.  They were great live onstage, and certainly do not disappoint here.  And, absent of the visual, the score is even more vivid and exciting when one can concentrate on the music and lyrics (by Shaiman and Scott Wittman).  What was terrific in passing while the show was going on, is even more fun just listening to it.  In the theatre, I knew I liked the score.  After listening to the CD, I really appreciate the wit and intelligence of the songs. 

The score itself is a mix of theatre music, torch songs and period/genre specific numbers.  And yet, and much of a mix as there is, the score is a cohesive whole.  There are times when you expect Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin, cigarette and scotch glass in hand, to start crooning the smooth jazzy numbers - "The Pinstripes Are All They See," "The Man Inside the Clues."  Or maybe Perry Como comes to mind when hearing the clever story-song "Butter Outta Cream" or "Seven Wonders." 

"Seven Wonders"

(Aaron Tveit and Kerry Butler)

"Little Boy, Be a Man"

(Norbert Leo Butz and Tom Wopat)

And of course the big dance numbers performed by all those innocently sexy boys and girls of the ensembles of all the best variety shows come across pretty well here, too.  In the show, they are "The Frank Abagnale, Jr. Players" and here, as there, they come across well, excellent singers, all, in such numbers as "The Jet Set" and "Doctor's Orders."  Of course, it is sad that one can't see what goes with these numbers - the dancing and staging really make the big numbers - "Live in Living Color" especially, and the smaller, stagier numbers like "Don't Be a Stranger."

Stand-out Numbers:  The whole recording is terrific, but there are several songs I find myself playing over and over.  Surprisingly, the awesome-as-you-watch-it-number "Don't Break the Rules" isn't one of them - you really need to see that number to fully appreciate it.  But I love the following: "The Pinstripes Are All That They See," with Tom Wopat's suave song-stylings and the back up of the girls.  "Doctor's Orders" is a sexy double-entendre number, featuring great vocals from Candace Marie Woods.  I love the emotion behind two of Norbet Leo Butz's numbers, "The Man Inside the Clues" and his poignant duet with Aaron Tveit, "Christmas Is My Favorite Time of Year."  But it is the upbeat numbers that set my feet a-tappin' (I literally have trouble sitting still when I drive): "Live In Living Color," "Jet Set."  But my two absolute favorite songs are the infectious "(Our) Family Tree," a (literally) sing Along with Mitch production number, and the powerful "Goodbye," which is gloriously sung by Mr. Tveit.  For me those two numbers alone reveal a really terrific show sadly under appreciated.

Here's hoping national audiences embrace the National Tour.

(Photos by Joan Marcus)


Rate this blog below, and leave your comments here, by email at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com, or Tweet me!
Jeff
3.005

Why CATCH ME Caught Me

Timing, they say, is everything.  And I can't help but wonder how different the fate of my favorite musical of last season, Catch Me If You Can, would be.  Had the show opened during the 2009 - 2010 season, I suspect that the Shaiman-Wittman-McNally musical would not have posted a closing notice after just 170 performances as it did today.  Even with the mixed reviews it got, I bet it would have swept the Tonys, and Memphis might not still be around.  At the very least, it would have offered considerable competition to a season that included Memphis, The Addams Family, Come Fly Away and Million Dollar Quartet.  Mind you, I genuinely enjoyed three of the four (it makes me sick to think MDQ has run longer that CMIYC).

Ah, well.  There is no point in getting bitter. It is what it is.  One imagines that despite an attendance rate that continues to hover around the 80% mark, an average ticket price under $70 must make turning a profit difficult.  After all, the show boasts a large cast and a large orchestra.  It can't be cheap.

Perhaps the most difficult thing to reconcile in my mind and heart, though, is that the things a lot of people didn't like about the show are the very things that drew me to it.  Here are 5 reasons why Catch Me caught me:

• I did not go into it expecting the twisted, hilarious world of the composers-director-choreographer's previous outing, Hairspray.  I knew going in that it would probably as different from its predecessor as Sondheim/Lapine's Passion is from Sondheim/Lapine's Into the Woods.  The stories couldn't be more different, and their sources are polar opposites - John Waters' skewed but loving view of his childhood Baltimore couldn't possibly be like the psychologically off kilter world of a real-life teenager turned con artist all for the love of his parents.  To expect a silly romp out of Catch Me If You Can is, well, silly. 

• I like an anti-hero.  The cold detachment and almost machine-like determination that is a heavy cloak over the troubled emotions of Frank Abagnale, Jr. is interesting to me.  It isn't just matinee idol Aaron Tveit, either.  You see, I can root for a guy who has drive, inner-fears, and a deep rooted need to please his parents.  And who can't feel for a kid who will literally do anything to get his folks back together?  For me, an instant bond and irrepressible warm fuzzies doesn't mean I'll love the show he is in.  It's the same reason why I am always drawn to the Javerts and not the Valjeans.

• I like an adversary that I can warm up to, too.  Again, chalk it up to the Javert/Valjean thing, only in Catch Me you get BOTH!  Who can't find the fun in the rumpled workaholic with a heart of gold hidden beneath a heavy cloak of self-righteousness, political correctness and drive?  It helps that Hanratty is played with a sweet earnestness by Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz.

• I love slick staging and pristine precision dance numbers that are sexy and daring, not fodder for the Lawrence Welk Show.  Jack O'Brien's amazing use of trap doors and sliding panels created a fast-paced world for Catch Me.  It moved as seamlessly and surprisingly as the actual cat and mouse game we were watching.  Oh, sure people bemoan the lack of tension,  There was plenty of tension in the audience both times I saw it, especially in the closing scene and even more so in the scene in the hotel where Hanratty and Abagnale come face to face for the first time, until the audience gave an audible sigh of relief and laugh when Aaron leaves Norbert there with a big bottle of ink and "sucker" written all over his face.  But I digress.  Equally eye-popping were the era evocative, high energy and high precision dance numbers created by Jerry Mitchell.  "Live in Living Color" was a great opening number, while "The Jet Set" set in stone iconic images from the film and book versions.  And of course, Hanratty's old fashioned Broadway showstopper, "Don't Break the Rules," is one of the season's biggest highlights.

• And most of all, I love a high-concept, challenging show that is a slick as the characters in the show.  You see, I liked the concept of a 60's variety show to tell this story.  It is period perfect, and it makes the reasons for breaking into song and dance legitimate.  Perhaps best of all, it allows a certain sterile distancing between the real-life story and theatricalizing of the more commercially interesting highlights of a life on the run.  It makes one enjoy the razzle dazzle of the sharp dance numbers as we see young Abagnale become a pilot, a doctor, and almost a family man without becoming too enamored of it.  After all, he is a criminal.  That allows the more thoughtful and feeling moments - the ones not choreographed and staged with urgency, to draw us in with the emotional content.  Of course, that is the very thing that most people wanted and didn't get easily.  They wanted the razzle dazzle to be so much fun you could love the criminal Frank Jr. who is inherently more interesting than lost at sea teenager Frank Jr.  People wanted to love the bad guy like they love Roxie and Velma.  Ironic isn't it that this is exactly the point of both shows?  America loves a bad guy who gets away with stuff we can't in everyday life.  It is harder to find the entertainment value in a kid who is simply starved for approval and is too smart to be left to his own devices.

 

 

I love a challenge.  And I love when it is presented by people who know what they are doing.  And that is why I love Catch Me If You Can.

 

Rate this blog below and leave your comments here, by email ay jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com or Tweet me!

Jeff
2.347

SAVE THIS SHOW: Is Priscilla in Trouble? Hope Not!

Every year both USA Today and TV Guide launch campaigns to "save" shows they like from cancellation due to low ratings.  I think that today, I am going to launch a one-blogger campaign to save a show that I love from what appears to be impending "cancellation," also known in Broadway parlance as "closing."

SAVE PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT!

OK, all cards on the table: I have no information that confirms that this show is in trouble of closing, and am only basing the following on opinion and certain things, that, over my long history of observing the comings and goings of Broadway shows, leads me to believe that Priscilla Queen of the Desert may be in danger  of closing sooner, rather than later.

First and foremost, the numbers are not good, and have not really been good over the past several weeks - Easter week, not withstanding.  The most recent Broadway Grosses have the show at just 56.3% of capacity at the Palace Theatre.  This is the third lowest percent of capacity of any Broadway show, play or musical (only RAIN and the newly previewing Hair are lower).  Of course, I have no idea how the advance is; perhaps the early fall has an uptick that I am unaware of.  I sincerely hope that is the case.

Second, and generally a sign that things are needing to be changed is the unveiling of yet another advertising tack.  The most recent before the commercial I'll discuss shortly was a good, if silly, attempt to capitalize on the show's lone Tony win - "Winner! 2011 Tony Award for Best Costumes!"  Not a single mention of the other (publicly lesser) awards the show has received.  And now a third ad campaign has been launched.

Here is their latest commercial:



Dubbed by the company as the "Three Friends" commercial, this ad is clearly trying to distance itself from its drag queen roots.  There is not a single close up of a drag queen or any of the "three friends" in full get up, either.  And bless 'em, Tony Sheldon looks so much like a woman, the quick champagne toast he shares with Bob in the spot, could go by to the untrained eye as "love" found in a most conventional way.  Poor Nick Adams, scorching hot as "Felicia," gets no air time, but his young Adam smiles and struts a few times.  But let's face it, Priscilla is so gay you'd have to be blind (and deaf; it is raining men, after all.  And so why not cash in on the wave of good will that has overtaken New York, where gay marriage was just legalized, and show our gay hero (Will Swenson) reuniting with his precious (and seriously adorable) little son on his way to sure and true love!   Please don't mistake my tongue-in-cheek tone with disrespect.  I applaud any and every attempt made in order to get more asses in the seats.

But the other aspect of the ad is the one that they should really be cashing in on: the element of fun spectacular Broadway entertainment, with a score full of songs that people of my generation can sing word for word.  Having our 80's heroine (and show co-producer) Bette Midler invite us is a big plus to go along with the dance numbers, flashy sets and crazy costumes showing whilst she narrates.  The 80's generation and the gay population remain the two groups with the most extra income for Broadway show tickets, so again, this is smart.

Since decent seats to the other really fun show on Broadway are months off at best, the producers of Priscilla  might do well to court the producers of The Book of Mormon, as well as their fans, who might enjoy a "fun fix" before next April.

I am telling you, Priscilla is a Broadway show that has it all - glitz, glamour, a teeney bit of naughtiness, a lot of smiles, fabulousness.  And it is HILARIOUS, and still manages to be smart, to have a point, and best of all, to have a heart.  Pack a tissue and a small bag to collect the confetti that rains down (in lieu of men) on the delighted audience at every performance!  People throw around the term "feel good musical" a lot these days.  But I can pretty much guarantee you will feel much better than good after you see this show.

For show information, go to http://www.priscillaonbroadway.com/.
For discount tickets, go to http://www.broadwaybox.com/.


Rate this blog entry below.  And please feel free to leave a comment here, email it to jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com or Tweet me!
Jeff

2.319

The Post-Tonys Drop Off

Tomorrow marks two weeks since the Tony Awards, and the usual purging of theatres has begun as shows that are Tony-less limp off into history.  That is not to say that the picture is all bleak - the Tony winners seem to be doing OK, as is the first new show of the 2011 - 2012 season.

Naturally, there is always some post-Tony nominations drop off to get the ball rolling.  This year, it was limited to just one: Wonderland.  This was no surprise, really, considering the critical drubbing it got and the subsequent lack of audience interest.  It is a little surprising, though, that not one element of the show was deemed Tony nomination worthy.

This whole season has been full of limited-run plays and play revivals, and given that so many were/are star-driven vehicles, it looked like it would be a repeat of last season.  Then, a hue and cry went up from Broadway stage actors bemoaning the fact that these shows were doing the "grab it and go" thing, jacking up ticket prices so only the elite could attend, and loading them with TV and movie stars who get Tonys and leave, never to return, and having the show close before anyone could see it.  Yes, this season looked pretty much the same on paper.  But a funny thing happened on the way to repeat land.  The critical acclaim, if there was any, went largely ignored; the rest got uneven notices. 

But this year, the audience wasn't to be the fool.  No, this year audiences seemed to decide for themselves, ignoring the acclaim and letting their tastes (and limited pocket books, I'm sure) dictate which shows would stay or go.  (Ask the star-less but acclaimed shows Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and The Scottsboro Boys tell you all about that!)  I'll bet no one was more surprised than the producers of That Championship Season and Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo that they weren't hot tickets.  Chock full of assumed box office gold in the likes of Robin Williams and Kiefer Sutherland, I'll bet they were all ready for Tony glory and pockets full of dough.  Instead, just one Tony nod between the two (for an unknown actor, mind you), and both shows have/will have finished their limited engagements with a whimper instead of a bang.  Add the much touted, audience ignored revival of Arcadia to the leave-on-time-but-who-even-noticed list.

So far, two limited runs have announced early closings, too.  Jim Belushi's debut vehicle, Born Yesterday, may have made a Broadway name for its female co-star, Nina Arianda, but it will be gone weeks early, closing tomorrow.  Tonight will be the closing performance of the three star (Ben Stiller, Edie Falco and Jennifer Jason Leigh) revival of The House of Blue Leaves, again closing weeks early.

Two shows that started as limited runs that got extended also announced closing this week: The Importance of Being Earnest and RAIN: The Beatles Experience on Broadway.  The former will cut its last extension by a week, while the former, which had been selling tickets into January, will now close September 4.  While neither got a Tony boost this season, neither could be called a flop by any definition, though.

The Motherfucker with the Hat went the conventional route, struggling, as most plays do, at the box office, despite a stellar cast, but becoming a sensation after a media blitz and several Tony nods.  The show would have closed today, but ticket demand was such that it extended through July 17.

And there are two other star vehicles we can deem a success, and even lament that they must close: John Leguizamo's one man show, Ghetto Klown , which twice extended, will end on July 9, and this year's Best Revival of a Play, The Normal Heart, will close as scheduled (so far, at least) on July 10.  To be fair, neither show was a hot ticket, playing to heavily discounted, decent attendance figures, but both shows, The Normal Heart especially, got box office bumps from the Tony telecast.  And it looks like plans are afoot for a tour and London engagement of the latter.

Things aren't much better over in London, either, with two high profile shoes announcing closings this week or so.  Love Never Dies will not be living up to its title or its predecessor, closing in August. You know what sucks about that?  The cast found out on the news like the rest of the public!  Priscilla Queen of the Desert went the more kind, gentle way, telling its cast that it will probably close at the end of the year, though no firm date has been chosen.  At least they can stay employed and look for future work, right?

Speaking of that show, it isn't doing boffo box office here, either, which is a shame, since it is probably the most fun show on Broadway at the moment, a feel good, heart-warming story, amazing spectacle and tunes they encourage you to sing and dance to.  You have to give them credit, though, for really trying - their ads are touting a Best Costumes Tony Award like it was a Best Musical win.  Good for them!

Of course, shows come and go, it is the Broadway circle of life.  Bonnie and Clyde and Follies wouldn't have homes, right?


Comments?  Leave one here, email me at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com or Tweet me!
Jeff
2.301